Tokyo - Japanese household spending fell 1.9 per cent in 2008 from a year before to 296,932 yen (3,291 dollars) per month, the government said Friday.

Spending for food dropped 1.9 per cent from the previous year while utility expenditure declined 1.3 per cent in 2008, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said.

The average monthly income of salaried households dipped 0.6 per cent in 2008 to 534,235 yen from a year before.

The yearly average of monthly spending by salaried households also dropped 1.1 per cent to 324,929 yen. (dpa)