Business sentiment among workers in Japan with jobs sensitive to economic trends continued to improve in August and recorded its highest level in 11 months as economic activities pressured by the coronavirus pandemic further picked up, government data showed Tuesday.
The diffusion index of confidence among "economy watchers" such as taxi drivers and restaurant staff, released by the Cabinet Office, rose 2.8 points from July to 43.9, the best showing since September 2019 when private spending increased before a consumption tax hike from 8 percent to 10 percent on Oct. 1 that year.
The latest reading was up for the fourth consecutive month with retail, housing, manufacturing and employment related indexes showing a notable rise, after it sank to 7.9 in April, the lowest since comparable data became available in January 2002, as economic restrictions weighed heavily on the economy.