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dpa
Tokyo
Japan’s industrial production dropped 9.1 percent in April from the previous month, marking the third straight month of fall, due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the government said on Friday.
The decline was steeper than the median forecast of a 5.4-per-cent decrease by analysts surveyed by the Nikkei Business Daily, following a 3.7-per-cent fall in March.
Manufacturers expect industrial production to fall 4.1 percent in May and to rebound 3.9 percent in June, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, showed.
The index of industrial shipments fell 8.8 percent to 85 in April from the previous month and that of industrial inventories slipped 0.3 percent to 106.1, the ministry said.
The government also reported that the nation’s unemployment rate rose to 2.6 percent in April from 2.5 percent in the previous month.
The number of those employed declined 1.2 percent from a year earlier to 66.28 million for the first fall in more than seven years, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
Japan first declared a coronavirus state of emergency for Tokyo and six other prefectures in early April. The measure was expanded to the whole country a week later.  The emergency ended in Tokyo and four other prefectures on Monday - the last remaining regions subject to restrictions - ahead of the scheduled expiry on May 31.
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01/06/2020
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