According to this article, Japan's jobless rate had been steady at 4 percent since November. and the jobs-to-applicants ratio improved to 1.05 in April -- meaning 105 jobs were available for every 100 applicants -- compared with 1.03 in March. this is better than what economists had predicted, as they had expected it to stay flat at 1.03. Household spending also rose, leading the bank of japan to predict that it will be able to increase interest rates within the next two years.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Japan jobless rate hits 9-year low
the article: http://www.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/05/28/japan.economy.reut/index.html
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2 comments:
Hey Domino,
It is truly amazing to have a jobless rate at 4%. I didn't know that Japan is doing so well. Is jobless rate the same as unemployment? I envy that, because Polish unemployment rate is at 15% now. There are plans to reduce it to 12% by the end of 2008 :)
Jobless rate = unemployment rate :)
The US has been pretty steady between 4% and just under 6% for a few years - and that's considered "healthy" unemployment because it allows for growth - you always have to have some unemployment to account for moving around, etc. Otherwise, none of you would get jobs when you graduate from HS or college. :)
Wojtek - 15% is pretty big...here in the US, we'd be panicking on that one. Visions of the Great Depression, etc.
Unemployment can be misleading, though, because it only takes into account those who are still looking for jobs - if they aren't, they are not counted. Weird, hey? So Uncle Bubba who sits and watches Springer all day doesn't count in the unemployment rate. It's inaccurate. Economists have estimated that if those "discouraged workers" had been counted during the worst year of the Depression (winter of 1933-34), instead of a quoted unemployment of about 34%, it would be closer to 70 or 75% unemployment.
Scary, hey?
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