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Japan's Jobless Rate at Lowest in Nearly 25 Years

Japan's Jobless Rate at Lowest in Nearly 25 Years

Japan's jobless rate stood at 2.4 per cent in January, the lowest in nearly 25 years, official data showed Friday (Mar 2), a major boost for the world's third-largest economy.

The figure - the lowest since April 1993 when the rate hit 2.3 per cent - comes as Japan has notched up eight straight quarters of economic growth, the longest positive run since the "bubble" boom days of the late 1980s.

Japan's government and central bank are hoping for a "virtuous cycle", with an export-led recovery boosting jobs and household income and thereby domestic demand, which accounts for roughly 60 per cent of Japan's economy.

Japan's jobless rate is at 2.4 percent, its lowest since April 1993. Image: AFP
Japan's jobless rate is at 2.4 percent, its lowest since April 1993. Image: AFP

 

However, the former economic powerhouse is still battling deflation fears, failing to achieve the 2.0-per cent inflation rate target set by the central bank, which is thought crucial to boosting the economy.

Experts say boosting domestic demand is key to exiting deflation and it requires better salaries for workers and removing fears over the snowballing costs of social welfare in the rapidly ageing society.

The data offer some good news for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a day after he was forced into an embarrassing climbdown over a key plank of his economic policy linked to labour market reforms.

 


Source : This is part of an article originally published on Channel News Asia.

Tags: Japan economy
Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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