Workers whose jobs are sensitive to the economy, including taxi drivers and restaurateurs, are reporting a poor business outlook as the depreciation of the yen pushes up the cost of imports, government data indicated Wednesday.

The diffusion index of how these "economy watchers" expect the economy to perform in coming months fell by 1.7 points from August to 48.7, down for the fourth straight month, the Cabinet Office said in a monthly report.

The index fell below the threshold of 50 for the first time since March, one month before the consumption tax was raised on April 1 to 8 percent.