Tokyo  - Japan's industrial production plunged to an unprecedented 9.6 per cent in December and unemployment rose, as the widening global recession cut export demands, the government said Friday.

Data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry revealed a steeper drop in production as compared to the previous record low of 8.5 per cent a month earlier.

For the year 2008, the industrial production declined for the first time in six years to an unadjusted 3.4 per cent from the previous year, when the reading fell 6.8 per cent.

The ministry expected output from manufacturers to decline 9.1 per cent in January and shrink 4.7 per cent in February.

The unemployment rate climbed to 4.4 per cent from 3.9 per cent, the biggest jump in 41 years.

The International Monetary Fund warned this week that Japan's gross domestic product would shrink 2.6 per cent in 2009, making it the nation's worst contraction since World War II.

The nation's key consumer price index (CPI), excluding fresh food prices, rose 0.2 per cent in December from a year earlier.

The core nationwide CPI stood at 101.1 against 100 for the base year of 2005. For the year 2008, the figure grew 1.5 per cent year-on-year.

Japan's monthly household spending, which accounts for more than half of the Japanese gross domestic product, fell 4.6 per cent in December from a year earlier to
336,976 yen (3,743 dollars).

The average monthly income of salaried households inched up 1.6 per cent to 969,449 yen in December, compared to a 0.6-per-cent fall a month before. (dpa)