Japan’s labor market continued to disappoint in July as the [B]Jobless Rate[/B] rose to a greater-than-expected 5.7%, a 33-year record high, while the ratio of available jobs to seeking applicants unexpectedly dropped to a fresh all-time low of 0.42. Looking ahead, a survey of economists conducted by Bloomberg suggests the pace of job losses will continue to accelerate at least through the second half of next year. This points to continued weakness in consumer spending as layoffs weigh on disposable incomes. Indeed, [B]Household Spending[/B] fell -2.0% in the year to July, four times worse than forecast.