January jobless rate dips, but labor market keeps worsening+

TOKYO, Feb. 27 Kyodo - Japan's job market conditions continued to worsen in January amid the deepening economic crisis, as a fall in the jobless rate pointed to an increase in the number of people who have stopped seeking jobs, while the ratio of job offers to job seekers hit its lowest level in nearly five and a half years, the
government said Friday.

The January seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell for the first time in three
months to 4.1 percent, while the job-offers-to-seekers ratio sank for the
eighth straight month to 0.67. The outcome prompted Prime Minister Taro Aso to
instruct labor minister Yoichi Masuzoe to ''make all-out efforts'' to improve
employment conditions.
A separate government survey showed the same day that an estimated 157,806
nonregular employees in Japan are expected to have lost or to lose their jobs
between October 2008 and March 2009, up 26.4 percent from a January finding,
highlighting the severity of the employment conditions as a result of the
global economic downturn.
The January unemployment rate declined from a revised 4.3 percent in December,
but the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications maintained its view
that employment conditions have been ''sharply deteriorating'' and that the
future situation requires ''close monitoring.''
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura pledged at a press conference that the
government will bolster its steps to enhance job security following the
enactment of budget bills. He also said the government will urge companies to
cooperate in such an initiative.
Yasuo Yamamoto, senior economist at the Mizuho Research Institute, said the
unemployment rate could top 5 percent and approach recent peaks of 5.5 percent
recorded in 2002 and 2003 in the near future.
''So far, temp workers in the manufacturing sector have mainly lost their jobs
due to plummeting orders and production adjustment amid the global downturn,''
he said. ''In the new business year starting April, job cuts may intensify
among different types of nonregular workers as well as regular workers.''
The economist called on the government to facilitate the transfer of workers in
the manufacturing sector to service industries, since medical and welfare
service providers still suffer from a labor shortage.
In the reporting month, the number of jobless people grew 210,000 from a year
earlier to 2.77 million for the third straight monthly expansion, the internal
affairs ministry said in a preliminary report.
The number of those who left the labor market or who stopped seeking jobs rose
50,000 from a year before. When people stop seeking jobs, they are considered
to be out of the job market and not jobless under the ministry's definition,
and thus contribute to the fall in the jobless rate.
The number of men who stopped job searches shot up by 220,000, but for women
the figure shrank by 170,000, according to the ministry.
In January, the number of people who work shorter hours -- up to 9 hours per
week -- surged 310,000 from a year earlier to 2.13 million. Of the 310,000,
230,000 were women, a ministry official said.
This suggests there were more women who were compelled to work part-time to
support their households financially, while men remain jobless, the official
said.
He speculated that many men who were dismissed are probably in a state of shock
and do not feel like looking for a new job because they believe they will not
be able to secure steady work.
The official said the number of unemployed people is ''still staying at a high
level.''
It is expected that female part-time workers may be dismissed in corporate
labor adjustments while men who were temporarily out of the labor market are
likely to return to the job market. Those people would push up the jobless
figure later, the official added.
The January jobless rate for men stood at 4.2 percent, down 0.3 point from
December, and the rate for women inched down 0.1 point to 4.1 percent.
The overall unemployment rate fell below the average market forecast of 4.6
percent in a Kyodo News survey.
Data released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare separately showed
there were 67 jobs available for every 100 job seekers. The ratio, the lowest
since September 2003, was worse than the average market projection of 0.69.
The number of job offers slipped 3.6 percent from December while that of job
seekers grew 6.1 percent, the labor ministry said. Meanwhile, the number of new
job offers dropped 18.4 percent from a year before.
By industry, the number of jobholders fell 140,000 from a year before among
temporary workers who were on payrolls of job agencies, and by 130,000 among
nonregular and regular workers in the manufacturing sector, according to the
internal affairs ministry.
The ministry also said nonregular workers accounted for 34.6 percent of the
total number of employed people in Japan in the October-December period of
2008, renewing a record-high percentage.
The number of people who are on leave in January rose 210,000 from a year
earlier to 1.53 million, growing by more than 200,000 for the second straight
month. The official speculated the data indicates reduced workload amid the
recession.
In January, the number of people who were laid off rose 230,000 from a year
earlier to 820,000, and the number of those who voluntarily quit their jobs
fell 60,000 to 970,000.
The official pointed out that the number of those who left their jobs
involuntarily exceeded the number of those who chose to quit in December and
January.
The number of unemployed heads of households expanded 40,000 from the year
before to 660,000, up for the 10th straight month, and the number of their
spouses without jobs grew 30,000 to 390,000, up for the third month in a row.
==Kyodo
2009-02-27 22:54:36