Business sentiment among workers with jobs sensitive to economic trends in Japan edged up in July for the second straight month of increase after the government's coronavirus state of emergency on 10 prefectures was mostly lifted, official data showed Tuesday.
The diffusion index of confidence in their current conditions compared with three months earlier among "economy watchers," such as taxi drivers and restaurant staff, rose 0.8 point from June to 48.4, according to the Cabinet Office.
A reading below 50 indicates that more respondents reported worsening conditions than improving ones. The office polled 2,050 workers from July 25 to 31, of whom 1,841, or 89.8 percent, responded.