Households whose breadwinners work for companies spent less in June than a year before, the third straight month of decline and despite the first pickup in income in seven months, the government said in a preliminary report released Tuesday.

Average household spending came to 304,318 yen, down 3.3 percent from a year earlier, while income inched up 0.8 percent to 763,806 yen on higher summer bonuses, according to the report by the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry.

"We need to see the figures for July to determine whether spending is on a downtrend, but the consumption level for June is low, and worrying," a ministry official said.