http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=376097
FY 2007 jobless rate falls to 10-yr low of 3.8%
TOKYO, April 30 KYODO
Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate averaged 3.8 percent in
fiscal 2007 ended March 31, down from 4.1 percent in fiscal 2006 to hit a
10-year low, the government said Wednesday.
The fiscal 2007 rate sank to the 3 percent zone for the first time since a
figure of 3.5 percent was recorded in fiscal 1997, reflecting a tightening in
the labor market with the recovery of Japanese economy.
The unemployment rate fell for the fifth straight year after peaking at
5.4 percent in fiscal 2002, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
said in a preliminary report.
In March alone, Japan's jobless rate stood at 3.8 percent, down slightly
from 3.9 percent in February for the first improvement in four months, the
ministry said.
The March reading was lower than the average market forecast of 3.9
percent in a Kyodo News survey.
A ministry official, however, warned that the pace of recovery in
employment conditions ''has stalled recently,'' and the brisk fiscal 2007
results were brought about by strong figures in the first half of the fiscal
year.
The jobless rate reached 3.6 percent in July last year, hitting the lowest
level since February 1998. The rate has since been hovering in a tight range
between 3.8 percent and 4.0 percent.
Naoko Ogata, senior economist at the Japan Research Institute, said that
the robust headline figure in fiscal 2007 results does not necessarily show a
marked improvement in the nation's employment conditions.
''The number of job seekers has dropped recently as more people refrained
from searching for jobs as the economy slows,'' she said. ''As a result, the
overall unemployment rate has not been so bad, but we cannot necessarily say
that the employment situation is good.''
Ogata said the jobless rate will not likely shoot up and will continue to
move little in the near future, because companies are aware of the need to hire
workers to deal with a labor shortage caused by the retirement of baby boomers
over the long term.
Separate data showed the average ratio of job offers to job seekers in
fiscal 2007 dropped 0.04 point from the year before to 1.02. That means there
were 102 job offers for every 100 job seekers.
The ratio in March was a seasonally adjusted 0.95, down 0.02 point from
the previous month, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said. The outcome
was worse than the average market forecast of 0.97.
The number of job offers in March slipped 4.1 percent from February while
that of job seekers dipped 2.2 percent, the labor ministry said.
The number of new job offers in March declined 21.3 percent from a year
before.
In the business year that ended March 31, the number of people without
jobs averaged 2.55 million per month, down 160,000 from the previous year for
the fifth straight yearly decline, according to the internal affairs ministry.
The number of jobholders rose 250,000 to an average 64.14 million for the
fifth straight yearly gain. Among them, the number of those employed averaged
55.23 million per month, hitting a record-high level.
The fiscal 2007 average jobless rate for men came to 3.9 percent, down 0.3
percentage point from fiscal 2006 for the fifth straight year of decline, and
that for women stood at 3.7 percent, down 0.2 point for the fifth yearly fall.
In March alone, the number of jobless people totaled 2.68 million, down
130,000 from a year earlier for the 28th consecutive monthly drop, the ministry
said.
In the reporting month, the jobless rate for women grew 0.1 percent point
from February to 3.9 percent, while that for men dropped 0.2 point to 3.8
percent. The rate for women exceeded that for men for the first time since June
1997.
The ministry official said it appears more women began job searches and
newly entered the labor market in March, resulting in the rise in the jobless
rate.
By industry, the number of jobholders shrank in the construction and
service sectors.
The number of people who voluntarily quit their jobs declined 90,000 from
a year earlier to 950,000, while that of people dismissed from their jobs
declined 60,000 from a year before to 560,000.
==Kyodo
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