tokyo japans factory output slid fasterthanexpected and retail sales tumbled the most in more than two decades in april as the coronavirus pandemic wrecked both foreign and domestic demand for the countrys autos and other manufactured goodsthe bad numbers suggest the recession seen in the worlds thirdlargest economy over the six months to march is likely to deepen in the current quarter as governmentimposed lockdowns disrupted supply chains and kept consumers shut in at homeofficial data on friday showed factory output slipped 91 in april from the previous month the biggest drop since comparable data became available in 2013 as automakers and iron and steel manufacturers suffered sharp declinesthat was a much larger decline than the 51 drop in a reuters forecastoutput will probably pick up from june onwards but it will be necessary to remain on guard for a second wave of coronavirus infections said takeshi minami chief economist at norinchukin research institutethe pace of a rebound will likely continue to be sluggishautomaker production fell by a third from the previous month that led the government to downgrade its description of overall production to decreasing rapidly for the first time since november 2008 from just decreasing previouslyconditions among manufacturers particularly in the auto sector are severe but production has already restarted in china and i think that they will be resumed in the united states and europe as well said economy minister yasutoshi nishimura after the release of the datanissan motor co plans to slash production capacity and model range by about a fifth to help cut costs by 300 billion yen 279 billion following a slide in sales the automaker said on thursdayseparate data showed retail sales tumbled at their fastest pace since march 1998 as the nationwide state of emergency led servicesector businesses such as restaurants to closeretail sales plunged 137 in april from a year earlier heavily weighed by slumping demand for general merchandise clothing and vehiclesthe gloomy data comes after japans exportreliant economy fell into recession for the first time in 412 years in the first quarterthe government this week lifted the state of emergency and approved a second 11 trillion stimulus package bringing the total pledged to save the economy from the pandemic to 22 trillionjapan was already trying to shake off weak demand before the outbreak after the government raised the nationwide sales tax to repair its public debt burdenthe largest component of the governments new stimulus package was a loans programme for smaller firms in immediate need of cash to keep the lights onother government data on friday showed worsening conditions in the jobs market suggesting such support for small and midsized firms remained muchneeded to reduce the risk of employment conditions worseningthe april jobless rate rose to 26 its highest since december 2017 although still welloff the rates seen in other developed nations where unemployment is approaching depressionera levelsthe number of nonregular workers posted the biggest yearonyear drop on record job availability slipped to 132 its lowest since march 2016analysts said