Old News1 (July,2009-Dec,2009 )
| 23-November-2009 Japan GDP Accelerates, Easing Risk of Renewed Slump (Update1) US unemployment is likely to peak at about 10.5 per cent and may not start to come down until the summer of 2010, according to Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Mr Evans told the Financial Times he had been ga little surprised?Eby the -latest employment report, which showed unemployment at 10.2 per cent, and had edged up his forecast for the peak jobless rate accordingly. |
| 16-November-2009 Japan GDP Accelerates, Easing Risk of Renewed Slump (Update1) Japanfs economy expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years in the third quarter, led by a rebound in domestic demand that may ease concern of a return to recession next year. |
| 12-November-2009 Labor Market shows some signs of recovery in Korea The number of employees in Korea increased for 3 consecutive months while the number of unemployed decreased for 4 consecutive months in October. It shows some signs of economic recovery from the deep economic fall occurred last year. It is due to the effect of the Korean governmentfs drastic employment strategy with a huge budget. |
| 11-November-2009 Some ofJapanese government's electronic application procedures systems will be renewed According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on 9th, they announced that they give way to a new electronic application procedures system in January 2010. It will cut down the cost from 24,000 yen to between 500 yen and 700 yen per application. The system of Labour Insurance Contributions Levy is the one which will be shifted to a new system. The total number of the applications were 4,940,000 and its only 1%, 50,000 were used on line. With this system shift change, they will cut the running cost from 1.32 billion yen in 2008 to 0.24 billion next year. |
| 10-November-2009 The business of ga job assistance zones for elderly?Eis going to be closed The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, Nagatsuma revealed a plan to close the business of ga job assistance zones for elderly?Eby March 2010 on 9th. There are 14 of its offices in Japan and it is often said that they have covered the same business as public job centers (hello-works) do. |
| 09-November-2009 The Japanese government focus on gemployment?E ?Eenvironment?Eand gchildren?Eon economic growth strategies The Japanese government said that they will determined on economic growth strategies by the end of 2009. They are planning to focus on gemployment?E ?Eemployment?E and gchildren?E |
| 04-November-2009 ADP Says U.S. Companies Cut Estimated 203,000 Jobs (Update3) Companies in the U.S. cut an estimated 203,000 jobs in October, according to a private report based on payroll data. The drop was the smallest in more than a year and followed with a revised 227,000 decline the prior month, data from ADP Employer Services showed today. The figures were forecast to show a decline of 198,000 jobs, according to the median estimate of 34 economists in a Bloomberg survey. |
| 04-November-2009 U.S. Economy: Services Expand Less Than Anticipated (Update2) Service industries in the U.S. expanded more slowly than forecast in October, indicating that consumers spooked by mounting job losses are making a limited contribution to the recovery entering the fourth quarter. The Institute for Supply Managementfs index of non- manufacturing businesses which make up the largest part of the economy fell to 50.6 in October from 50.9 in September, according to the Tempe, Arizona-based group. Another report today showed that companies continued to cut employees. |
| 01-November-2009 Payrolls Probably Fell, Factories Sped Up: U.S. Economy Preview Employers in the U.S. kept cutting jobs in October and manufacturing picked up, pointing to an uneven economic recovery that will take time to encourage hiring, economists said before reports this week. Payrolls fell by 175,000 workers last month, deepening the worst employment slump since the 1930s, according to the median of 63 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of a Nov. 6 Labor Department report. A purchasing managers?Ereport may show factories expanded at the fastest pace since 2006. |
| 29-October-2009 Raising unemployment insurance rate to 1.2% According to Roudouseisaku shingikai, an advisory panel to the Ministry, they are largely agreed on raising the unemployment insurance rate to 1.2%. It has been 7 years since raising the unemployment insurance rate. The unemployment insurance account will be 800 billion yen in the red. The final decision will be made by Nagatsuma, Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare by the end of March 2010. |
| 27-October-2009 Fukushima prefecture announced that companies who have recently hired will get priority on government contracts Fukushima prefecture decided to give priority on government contracts to companies having hired recently. They made this decision for companies to make more employment opportunities. This policy will go into effect on November 9th. |
| 26-October-2009 ILO report says temporary workers among the worst hit by the economic crisis, urges balance between flexible labour markets and workers?Eprotection GENEVA (ILO News) - A new report issued by the International Labour Office (ILO) says that workers employed by temporary employment agencies have been among the first to lose their jobs as a result of the financial and economic crisis. At the same time, the report also observes that ratification of ILO Convention No. 181 on private employment agencies can help to promote Decent Work and ensure better functioning labour markets. The report - gPrivate employment agencies, temporary agency workers and their contribution to the labour market?E- points to a direct correlation between economic growth and the state of the employment agency industry, with the strong performance and expansion seen during the boom years mirrored by the weakness and contraction of the industry today.The report will be discussed at a global tripartite meeting on October 20-21 at ILO headquarters titled gWorkshop to promote ratification of the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181)?E Convention No. 181 balances enterprises?Eneeds for labour flexibility with workers?Eneeds for employment stability, a safe work environment, decent conditions of work and social security. |
| 22-October-2009 UPDATE 1-New US jobless claims rise, show soft labor market The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, data showed on Thursday, indicating the labor market remains fragile despite signs of economic revival. Initial claims for state jobless insurance increased 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 531,000 in the week ended Oct. 17 from a revised 520,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said, after declining for two consecutive weeks. |
| 22-October-2009 The amount paid in Social Security benefits in 2007 was 91 trillion yen, the largest amount ever due to an aging society According to the National Social Security and population problem think tank on the 22nd, the amount paid in social security benefits in 2007 reached 91.4305 trillion yen, the largest amount ever due to an aging society. The amount of paid will continue to increase if the DPJ set up an allowance for families with children and decrease medical payouts to seniors. |
| 20-October-2009 45% of companies hire people over the age of 65 According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare on the 20th, 44.6% of companies hire people over the age of 65 who wish to work, a 5.6% increase from the previous year. |
| 19-October-2009 The GDP would increase 27% if the pay gap between men and women is removed EU presidency holder Sweden released the result of a study that showed removing the pay gap between men and women would increase the GDP about 27% in the EU. |
| 14-October-2009 Japanese Health Minister Nagatsuma decided to start "Pension Pass Book System" next year Japanese Health Minister Nagatsuma decided that they will start "Pension Pass Book System" next year. They will request its budget with the budgetary request of 2010. They will send a "Pension Pass Book" to every pensioner and every person enrolled in it. |
| 13-October-2009 The number of workers in nursing care and welfare industries have been increasing (Nikkei) The number of workers in nursing care and welfare industries have been increasing, it reached 2,910,000, an increase of 20,000 from 1 year before. It is because of the falling birthrate and the aging population that there has been a shortage of workers. But many people who lost their job in other industries joined in nursing and welfare industries. Jobs-to-applicants ratio in nursing industry is 1.33 and still need more people to work. The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare is planning to improve the employment conditions of nursing care and welfare industries to encourage more people to these industries. |
| 09-October-2009 Half of U.S. Babies Living Today May Reach 100 If current life expectancy trends continue, more than half of babies born in rich nations since 2000 will live to 100 years of age, and they'll have less disability than elderly people in previous generations. That's the conclusion of researchers who found that increases in life expectancy evident in rich nations since 1840 show no signs of slowing. "The linear increase in record life expectancy for more than 165 years does not suggest a looming limit to human lifespan. If life expectancy were approaching a limit, some deceleration of progress would probably occur. Continued progress in the longest living populations suggests that we are not close to a limit, and further rise in life expectancy seems likely," Kaare Christensen, of the Danish Aging Research Center at the University of Southern Denmark, and colleagues wrote. Their study appears online Oct. 1 in The Lancet. |
| 09-October-2009 The unenployment rate improved to 5.7% in Australia According to Australian Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate in September in Australia became 5.7%, a 0.1% decrease from the previous month. The number of part-time-workers increased 3 months in a row and the number of regular employee increased from the previous month for the 1st time in 5 months. It improved better than the market expected. |
| 07-October-2009 The number of families receiving public assistance increased to 1,440,000, the biggest number ever The number of families receiving public assistance increased to 1,148,766 an increase by 43,391 families (3.9%) from last year. According to a report of the administrative operations for social welfare by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, it revealed that the numbers over the past 8 years have continued to surpass the figures from each previous year. The government analyses revealed that it was because of the increase of the number of unemployed due to deteriorating employment conditions. |
| 06-October-2009 Japanese women's difficulty of raising children and working at the same time According to the results of a survey on managing to work and raise one's children at the same time over 4,110 people among the men and women with regular employee positions. The survey was carried out on February 19th and 20th in 2009 by Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting commisioned by the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare. 96.2% of the men and 80.9% of the women were working as a regular employee. and 32.8% of the women were working as a non-permanent employee. 97.7% of the stay-at-home-moms answered that they have had work once and only 2.3% of them answered that they have never worked in their life. |
| 02-October-2009 Decrease in use of Employment Adjustment Subsidies in August According to the survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare on the 2nd, the number of companies which applied for Employment Adjustment Subsidies in August 2009 decreased by 3.7% from the previous month and the number of the companies became 79,922. The total number of employees who were supported by the subsidies decreased by 13.2 % from the previous month. The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare analyzed that there was Bon vacation in August so that there were not many companies which required more holidays to adjust employment. |
| 29-September-2009 57% of fixed-term employees get less than 2 million yen of annual income According to a survey about fixed-term employees by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on the 30th, 57% of fixed-term employees get less than 2 million yen of annual income.About 50% of them also have experienced lay-offs or lost their job unexpectedly due to no renewal of their contracts. |
| 29-September-2009 Extend the date to introduce the delivery assistance program Japanese Health and Labor Minister, Nagatsuma announced that they will extend the date to introduce the delivery assistance program to October. It was due to medical facilities?Edelay of implementings |
| 27-September-2009 The Doctor Labor Union started a telephone counseling service The Doctor Labor Union started a telephone counseling service for working doctors on the 27th. There were 29 phone calls from working doctors who are suffering or under the fear of gKaroushi?E no pay during physical examinations, and working long hours |
| 24-September-2009 U.S. jobless claims slide in latest week (Reuters) The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell 21,000 last week, government data showed on Thursday, and a less volatile unemployment claims gauge dipped to an eight-month low. |
| 24-September-2009 Japanese Health Minister Nagatsuma said that he intends to introduce an allowance for all the families with children without income limitation (Nikkei) Japanese Health Minister Nagatsuma said that he has to introduce an allowance for families with children without any income limitation as it was planned and announced. |
| 23-September-2009 U.S. Aug mass layoffs rise, manufacturing worst hit (Reuters) The number of mass layoffs by U.S. employers rose by 533 in August from July, with the manufacturing sector the hardest hit, Labor Department data showed on Wednesday. The number of mass layoff actions -- defined as job cuts involving at least 50 people from a single employer -- rose to 2,690 last month, affecting 259,307 workers. That brought the total of mass layoffs so far this year to 21,184. |
| 18-September-2009 Japanese Health Minister Nagatsuma announced that they will ban the labor dispatch service to the manufacturing industry and investigate the pension issues by investigating all payment records again (Nikkei) Japanese Health Minister Nagatsuma said on 17th that he will ban dispatch service to manufacturing industry. Regarding the pension issues, he said that he will investigate the records of people already investigated by the former administration. |
| 16-September-2009 UK unions spark debate over high heels at work (Reuters UK) British unions set off a heated debate across the nation after passing a motion this week demanding that women have the right to wear comfortable shoes in the workplace. The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists introduced the motion asking employers to work in partnership with trade unions, staff, and local Health and Safety representatives to ensure that proper risk assessments are carried out, and where high heels are deemed a health risk, replaced with comfortable shoes. |
| 16-September-2009 Bernanke says recession is "very likely" over (Reuters) Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday that the worst U.S. recession since the Great Depression was probably over, but the recovery would be slow and it would take time to create new jobs."Even though from a technical perspective the recession is very likely over at this point, it's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time," Bernanke said at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. |
| 14-September-2009 Japan Health Insurance Associations (Kyoukai Kenpo) announced that each insurance rate of 20 prefectures in Japan was increased Japan Health Insurance Associations (Kyoukai Kenpo) announced that each insurance rate of 20 prefectures in Japan was increased from September 2009. |
| 12-September-2009 70% of Cooperate Health Insurance Associations run their business in the red due to heavy medical expenses for elderly people The survey by National Federation of Health Insurance Societies showed that 70% of Cooperate Health Insurance Associations run their businesses in the red. The total current-account deficit of all the associations were 306 billion yen. It is due to the 420 billion yen increase of medical expenses for elderly people within a year. |
| 09-September-2009 The wage is not more than the previous company's According to the survey of employment conditions of 2008 by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, the rate of people who got their wage increased more than their previous job when they moved to their new jobs were 33.2 %, less than those people who got their wage decreased (33.5%). It has been 4 years since the last time that the rate of those people who got their wage decreased surpassed those people who got their wage increased. The result showed that employment conditions are still in a severe condition and the wage moderating effect is reflecting sluggish personal consumption. |
| 08-September-2009 Maintain the economy's recovery as the same as the previous month but changed the employment conditions to "the worst ever" A monthly assessment of the economy in September 2009 was submitted by the economic and fiscal policy minister, Mr. Hayashi on the 8th. According to the assessment, the economy's recovery from the depression is the same level as the last month but the unemployment rate reached 5.7%, the worst rate ever. The employment conditions are described as "become increasingly severe". It was described as "deteriorating rapidly and in a severe condition" last month. |
| 06-September-2009 8 companies a year received an administrative punishment banning the use of vehicles on business due to lack of social insurance The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has reported the status of use of the system of "administrative punishment banning the use of vehicles on business due to lack of social insurance" in the past 12 months. From the start of the system in July 2008 to June 2009, there were 8 companies punished, banning the use of vehicles on business due to lack of social insurance. There were 4 companies which did not have both social and labor insurances. |
| 04-September-2009 The number of unemployed among young people in advanced countries is increasing! The number of unemployed young people is increasing rapidly in advanced countries. ILO (Intearnational Labour Organization) announced their forecast that the unemployment rate among young people in advanced countries will be 16~18.7%. This result shows that it is 2 times higher than the average unemployment rate of all generations. The employment environment for young in advanced countries including Japan is deteriorating and it may influence consumer spending. |
| 02-September-2009 The number of employees decreased by 298,000 from the previous month According to the report by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) on September 2nd, the number of employees in the US decreased by 298,000 from the previous month. The rate of decrease was more than the average market expectation rate (213,000). The result was due to the finance industry and building industry's bad employment market. |
| 01-September-2009 Unemployment rate in Europe is at a high level-----9.5% in July The unemployment rate in 16 Europian countries in July was 9.5%, a 0.1% increase from the previous month, the highest rate since May 1999. The number of unemploymed in July reached 15,090,000, a 167,000 increase from the previous month. The economic conditions show signs of having bottomed out while there is still more deterioration in employment. Spain was 18.5%, the worst unemployment rate. Germany was 7.7%. France was 9.8%. |
| 31-August-2009 Eligibility requirements for the unemployment insurance will be changed Eligibility requirements for the unemployment insurance will be changed and the number of the eligible people will increase by 10,000,000. In the current program, people who works more than 40 hours in a week is able to join the unemployment insurance but dispatched workers who work more than 20 hours but less than 40 hours in a week need more than 6 months of the prospective employment term. Japanese government will change this " more than 6 months of the prospective employment term" into "more than 31 days" and people under the insurance can receive 45~80% of the wage if they actually worked more than 6 months. However, the concern is that the unemployment insurance will be also charged on employers and the insurance of the short-term contract employees can not be refunded. |
| 30-August-2009 The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare improved their system to provide the Employment Adjustment Subsidy The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare improved their system to provide the Employment Adjustment Subsidy. Currently, it often takes more than 2 months to provide the Employment Adjustment Subsidy. However, the Ministry will improve their investigation system to judge the applicants and all 47 prefectures will introduce the same investigation system. |
| 28-August-2009 Unemployment rate in Japan reached 5.7%, the worst rate since April 1953 According to the announcement on 28th by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the unemployment rate in July reached 5.7%, the worst rate since April 1953 while the jobs-to-applicants ratio in July became 0.42, deterorated by 0.1% from June, hit the worst record for 3 straight months by the report from the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. |
| 27-August-2009 Hoshi Labor Consulting established business alliances with SANO certified tax accountant Ltd. (Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo) Hoshi Labor Consulting established business alliances with SANO certified tax accountant Ltd. (Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo). As being a partner of SANO, Hoshi Labor Consulting can provide our consulting service with better quality and trustworthy support. |
| 27-August-2009 Ended in a reconciliation :McDonald's overtime payment lawsuit 4 shop managers of Japan McDonald's took legal action to Tokyo District Court and it was ended in a reconciliation. The original lawsuit from those shop managers was that Mcdonald's to pay 17,000,000 yen including unpaid overtime work charges. |
| 26-August-2009 Brazil settles on a 40 hour work week The Brazilian government announced that they will settle on a 40 hour work week, down from 44 hours without any wage cuts. They also will increase their overtime work rate from 50% to 75%. |
| 26-August-2009 A part of the revisions of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act will be in effect from September 30th Japanese government announced that they decided to make a part of the revisions of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act in effect from September 30th. The revisions which will be in effect from September 30th are as follows; 1) The Japanese government will publicize the company's name if the company lay off their employee who took Child-care leave. 2) force a company to pay administrative fines if the company filed a false report to the Labor Department. |
| 25-August-2009 Foreign Trainees are forced to work for low wages and long working hours The number of victims who are forced to work as foreign trainees for the illegally low wages and long working hours has been increasing. On August 7th, the family of the victim who died as a foreign trainee under illegally low wages and long working hours insisted that he died due to "karoushi" and applied for Workmen's Accident Compensation Insurance. It was the first case of a foreign trainee that applied for Workmen's Accident Compensation Insurance. |
| 25-August-2009 The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare released its annual White Paper on Labor The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare released its annual White Paper on Labor on the 25th. The title of the White paper on Labor in this year was "Self-support society for the stability of lifestyle and society". It said that important thing is to broaden the policies of employment and public welfare and make a complex safety net against these policies with concerns of today's deteriorating employment conditions. It also said that the number of non-regular employees who will not have thier contract renewed is expected to reach 229,000 by the end of September. The number of welfare recipients was dramatically increased from last fall. The % of single-mother family's employment rate fell sharply. With these situations, the white paper appeals for the necessity of integrating the policies using Unemployment insurances and Hello Work (job-placement office) and the necessity of the welfare policies and to put them in execution. |
| 24-August-2009 The number of newly employed from January to July 2009 was 6,660,000 in China The Chinese government announced that the number of newly employed people was 6,660,000 and the number of reemployed was 3,150,000. The number of newly employed people on July was 970,000. The employment situation in China has been improving. |
| 21-August-2009 More than 10% of regular employees are more than 60 years old The number of employees who are more than 60 years old has increased to more than 10%, a 2.4 increase from the previous survey in 2004. |
| 19-August-2009 Only 1.23% of men had taken child-care leave in 2008 According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, only 1.23% of men had taken child-care leave in 2008. It showed that men do not take child-care leave due to their concerns about their job position after their come back. The 1.23% was calculated based on the number of the employees who give birth or whose wives give birth for a year by the end of March 2008 and began to take their child-care leaves by October 1st in the same year. The target % of the men who take child-care leave proposed by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is 10%. But the reality is that the % of the men who actually took child-care leave was between 0~1% while the % of women's actual taken child-care leave has been increasing and now it is 90.6%. |
| 19-August-2009 The number of non-regular employees from April to June 2009 decreased by 470,000, the highest decrease rate since 2003 According to the labor force survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the number of non-regular employees became 16,850,000, a 470,000 decrease from the previous quarter. It was the highest decrease rate since 2003. It showed that non-regular employees are used as adjusting valves in many companies. |
| 17-August-2009 A 4.7% decrease, the worst wage decrease between April and June 2009 due to the decrease of summerThe wages between April and June 2009 marked the worst decrease since the end of World War II. The average wage which is based on the GDP statistics was a 4.7% decrease compared to last year's. It was the worst decrease since 1956. |
| 17-August-2009 US recovery is in view, but struggles persist (AFP) The US economy appears poised to emerge from recession but will struggle for some time, held back by a weak job market and cautious consumers, analysts say. The world's biggest economy is giving mixed signals as the manufacturing sector picks up and the housing market shows signs of steadying but retail sales remain sluggish. The latest data showed gross domestic product (GDP) -- the broad measure of the economy's activity -- fell at an annualized rate of 1.0 percent in the second quarter, after a 6.4 percent plunge in the January-March period. Unemployment dipped in July to 9.4 percent, one-tenth point lower than the 26-year high hit in June as job losses narrowed to 247,000. But US retail sales unexpectedly dipped 0.1 percent in July with consumers pulling back despite rising auto sales stimulated by the government's "Cash for Clunkers" trade-in incentives. A widely watched survey of consumer sentiment, a harbinger of spending trends, showed Americans remain wary of the economic outlook. |
| 10-August-2009 The average ratio of personnel expenses of home-healthcare provider s is 99.4% According to the survey of the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training, it showed that the ratio of personnel expenses of home-healthcare providers is 99.4%, the highest ratio in the care management industry while its ratio of visiting nursing-care providers is 81.5% and its ratio of the visiting bath service providers is 78%. |
| 10-August-2009 The reality of the usage of the subsidy for the job training program The reality of the usage for the subsidy for the job training program is to cover up personnel costs but not for the job training program in most of the cases. According to Kanagawa Labor Department, the number of the companies receiving job training subsidies was 9,169 and the number of their employees was more than 530,000. |
| 07-August-2009 The unemployment rate of the US in July improved to 9.4% According to the US governmentfs employment statistics, the unemployment rate in June improved by 0.1% and became 9.4%. The number of employees decreased by 247,000 but the decreasing speed became slower compared to the previous monthfs. The number of unemployed became less than the market forecast, which was 9.6% and 325,000. |
| 03-August-2009 The total number of unemployed people in Japan, Europe and the US became 33 million, a 60% increase from March 2008 The total number of unemployed people in Japan, Europe, and the US surpassed 30 million, a 12 millions increase from March 2008. The cause was the adjustment of employment due to the financial crash and the economic recessions. There seems to be some recovery in the economy, but a certain recovery is still unclear due to the bad employment situation. |
| 03-August-2009 Average wage in June 2009 was cut by 7.1% from last year The wage cut is taking a toll on family finances. According to the Monthly Labor Survey compliled by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the average wage amount in all industries was about 430,620 yen. It was the worst fall due to the big bonus decrease after 1990. |
| 01-August-2009 Price-cutting War (Mainichi) There seems to be no stop of price decrease among a wide range of products. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications?Eannouncement on July 31st, national consumer price index in June was down by 1.7%, even worse than last monthfs. The unemployment rate in June was 5.4%. The deterioration of the employment situation resulted in a sluggish consumption. Price-cutting War will result in impoverished companies and worse economy deflation. |
| 31-July-2009 Unemployment rate became 5.4%, worst rate since June 2003 According to the labor force survey by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the unemployment rate in June was 5.4%, 0.2 increase from the previous month. It is the same as the one in June 2003. The survey shows a rapid deterioration of employment situation. |
| 29-July-2009 The Japanese government upgraded the economic outlook for the 1st time in 5 years (ASAHI) The Department of Treasury announced economic affairs in each area of Japan from April to June 2009. 10 out of 11 areas of the economic affairs in Japan upgraded compared to the one from January to March 2009. They judge in comprehensive manner as "There seems some recovery and partially bottoming out, but the economy is still in a severe condition". It was 5 years and 3 months since they upgraded their economy outlook. However, the employment situation in all areas is still severe and it resulted in a sluggish personal consumption. |
| 28-July-2009 No raise of minimum wage in 35 prefectures The Central Minimum Wages Council announced that they will not raise the minimum wage for 35 prefectures, but it will raise other 12 prefectures to exceed welfare payment. The result shows that the average raise was about 7 to 9 yens, which is lower than last year's ( The average raise last year was 16 yens). It also showed that they make employment opportunities their top priority other than raising the minimum wage. |
| 27-July-2009 Unemployment rate in Japan can surpass 5.5%, the worst rate since the end of World War II Even though the Japanese government announced the bottoming out of the economy, there is no stop to the deteriorating employment in Japan. Companies are not hiring many employees because the future of the economy is still unclear. Some economists predict that the employment rate can surpass 5.5%, the worst rate since the end of World War II. Japanese government is going to be forced to take prompt actions and more measures for improving the employment situation. |
| 26-July-2009 The number of employment of 20's and 30's have increased among the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries According to a survey of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, the number of employment among agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries has increased while employment among other industries reached its worst rate due to the economic crash. |
| 24-July-2009 The number of employees, who resign under pressure, working for foreign companies in Japan is increasing "You are not allowed to enter the company any more."-----The compulsory retirements among employees who work for foreign companies in Japan are increasing. The labor union which has many members from such foreign companies said that " Japanese Labor Standard Act" also applies to foreign companies in Japan. The law never allows them to dismiss employees due to an unreasonable reason. |
| 22-July-2009 There are some signs that the deflation of employees' wages will increase. Additionally, the US economy's recovery is still uncertain FRB sees some recovery of US economy though the market is still weak for labor and there is still possibility of deflation in employees' wage. The economy might recover without an increase in employment. The wage deflation might induce a severe mood in the market as there will be less hope for a consumption-led recovery.Due to FRB's aggressive financial policy and large scale economic stimulus policy, it has worked out very well so far. It appears that the economy is not far away from a recovery, though the economy will not recover without an increase in consumer spending. |
| 21-July-2009 Japanese children are in danger !! According to a survey conducted by the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, 30,000 children, which is 6.5% of single mother families do not have health insurance. Instead of going to the hospital, they go to the nurse's office in school. There are concerns about declines in academic ability and physical strength. A different survey showed that 1 out of 3 children in elementary school in Japan feel that "the effort will not pay off in this country". |
| 18-July-2009 "Report of dispatched workers' status" was officially published by defense counsel "Nihon Roudou Bengodan" (labor defense counsel in Japan) published "report of dispatched workers' status" officially on the 17th. Although all revisions of "Worker Dispatch Law" submitted by the government and 3 opposition parties will be scrapped, the defense counsel announced this report officially and demaded a revision of the current "Worker Dispatched Law". This report contains 71 cases that the defense counsel picked out of counselings with dispatched workers. |
| 16-July-2009 The most important challenge for a labor union is an expansion of the union According to actual condition survey of labor unions by the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, 30% of labor unions in Japan work on an expansion of unions. About 20% ofthe unions accept part-time employees as members of the unions. This shows that most of the unions think full-time employees are more important than other employees. |
| 15-July-2009 According to Obama, increase of the unemployment rate will continute for sometime According to President Obama, the unemployment rate will continue to increase for sometime while confirming a certain economic recovery. Obama told that he is not sure that the economic growth will have any reflect on the employment situations. |
| 14-July-2009 According to monthly economic report, there are some visible signs of economic recovery over the past 3 months The government announced on 13th that there are some visible signs of economic recovery. It was 7 years and 3 months ago that the government revised the Japanese economy to improve conditions. However,the forecast is still unforeseeable due to the concerns about economic deterioration. The current economic report is better than previous ones. |
| 14-July-2009 There is a possibility for an economic recovery without the recovery of the current employment situation Senator Shelby told CNBC TV on an interview that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke answered the question of the possibility of an economic growth without the recovery of the employment situations. Bernanke stated that "It is possible." |
| 12-July-2009 Actual Japanese unemployment rate is 9%, about the same level as the US's The unemployment rate announced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications was 5.2%, 0.2% up from the previous month. Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry announced that jobs-to-applicants ratio became 1:2.27, the worst ever. While various economic indicators show recovery, the employment situation is still in the bad condition. Professor of Waseda University said that the employment rate in Japan actually reached 9.2%, if counted grant-aided employees on break due to no business. |
| 09-July-2009 Unemployment rate in Australia decreased more than expected in June (Reuters) Employment rate in Australia decreased had the highest decrease in 3 months, reaching the highest unemployment rate in 6 years. Companies laid off their full-time employees to cut down on costs. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of employees decreased by 21,400 from the previous month and the unemployment rate reached 5.8%. Number of full-time employees decreased by 21,900, while the number of part-time employees increased by 400. |
| 08-July-2009 Bicycle industry can employ 4.5 time as many employees as the car industy can According to the French environment ministry's investigation, if people ride bicycles often, traffic jam issues decrease, and employment opportunities and tourism revenues increase. After the city of Paris introduced the bicycle rental system called Velib, there was a bicycle boom in France. The amount of sales of bicycles in France reached 1.43 billion Euros and the number of employees in bicycle industry reached 10,400. Employment effect on the sales is 4.5 times higher than that of the car industry's one. |
| 07-July-2009 Effect from rapid production adjustment --- left much concern on employment and people's income According to the announcement of Bank of Japan (Sakura Report), Japanese economy shows some improvement all over the country. These improvements, though, resulted from the government's economic stimulus package and the backlash against the steep economic fall since last fall. The economy's continuous recovery is still uncertain. |
| 06-July-2009 The number of claims of mental disease caused by work has been increasing The number of workers that were given workmen's compensation due to suffering from mental disorders reached 269 in 2008, the highestt number so far. The mental disorders resulted from long working hours and power harrassment. 377 workers that suffered from brain and cardiac disease wer given workmen's compensation. These results reflect current work place's conditions. |
| 03-July-2009 The number of employees in the US decreased 460,000, an increase in the rate again. Unemployment rate reaches 9.5% According to the US Department of Labor, employment rate in June showed that the number of employees of non-agricultural workers in the US decreased by 467,000 persons from last month. The rate was worse than the market's forecast. Unemployment rate became 9.5%, a 0.1% deterioration from previous month. |
| 2-July-2009 According to Bank of Japan's survey, there are still surpluses in employment and capacity investment According to Bank of Japan's quarterly short-term economic survey, companies are apt to reduce investment in factories and equipment, and consider laying off employees, while big companies in Japan began to see their businesses improve. The improvement of the export and production does not reflect domestic demand and small and medium-sized enterprises. Therefore, there are some concerns that the economic recovery this time will not continue very long. |
