Japan's factory output growth came in at a slower-than-expected 0.2 per cent in April, official data showed Thursday, as the world's third-largest economy mounts a lumbering recovery. Workers are seen assembling Toyota's compact hybrid vechile "AQUA" on the assembly line of the Kanto Auto Works' Iwate plant at the Kanegasaki town, Iwate prefecture. (AFP/File - Toshifumi Kitamura) The rise was below the market's forecast of a 0.5 per cent boost, after revised factory output data for March showed growth of 1.3 per cent, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The economy, trade and industry ministry put a positive gloss on the latest figures, saying output "continues to show an upward movement". The ministry also pointed to a manufacturers' survey showing that, while factory managers expected a 3.2 per cent dip in output in May, it would be followed by a 2.4 per cent rise in production in June. But the spectre of power shortages this summer is hanging over Japan's factories as the government calls for energy conservation in the wake of last year's atomic crisis. All 50 of Japan's nuclear power stations have been switched off after the March 11 tsunami swamped reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant and sent them into meltdown. Energy shortages could pose a serious risk to any recovery in the world's third-largest economy, while concern about Europe's fiscal problems has taken a bite out of the euro, with the yen increasingly seen as a safe-haven unit. A strong currency hurts Japan's exporters by making their products relatively more expensive overseas while shrinking their foreign-earned income. Financial authorities have vowed further market interventions to bring down the value of the surging yen. The latest factory output data came two days after official figures showed Japan's unemployment rate rose slightly in April, owing mainly to cuts in the struggling electronics sector. The nation's jobless rate edged up to 4.6 per cent from 4.5 per cent in March, the internal affairs ministry said. The news also came as reports said electronics giant Panasonic may halve its 7,000-strong Osaka headquarters as part of a bid to streamline itself and turn a profit following a record US$9.7 billion annual loss. Positive data showing household spending on the rise gave some hope for the nation's recovery, but analysts say an upward trajectory is far from assured. Japan's economy was also hit by severe flooding in Thailand in late 2011, disrupting global supply chains and the production capability of Japanese manufacturers, particularly in electronics and automobiles. - AFP/wm