We reached a record high in the 4th quarter of last year and average pay has surpassed its pre-crisis peak after more than a decade. In the three months to the end of December, the employment rate rose to 76.5 per cent as an extra 180,000 people found work, taking the total number of workers to 32.9 million.
Japan’s economy shrank 6.3%
The data, the worse since 2014, shows the impact of the consumption tax increase and the impact of the coronavirus.
German industrial output drop
German industrial orders fell by 2.1% resulting in a year-on-year decline of 8.6% the worst reading for over 10 years. Industrial production also fell 3.5%.