Industrial production snapped two quarters of decline in December, signaling the economy may have limped out of recession.

Output rose 1.8 percent in the three months through December from the third quarter, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Friday.

While household spending fell and inflation slowed in December, the labor market continued to tighten, with the ratio of jobs to applicants rising to the highest in more than two decades and the official unemployment rate falling to the lowest since August 1997.