— See Separate Table For Details of Individual Forecasts
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is
expected to be at 4.6% in July, unchanged from June, while the ratio of
job offers to job seekers is projected to be 0.64 in July, up from 0.63
in June, according to the median forecasts of analysts surveyed by
Market News International.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will release
the unemployment rate while the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
will release the ratio of job offers to job seekers, both at 0830 JST on
Tuesday, August 30 (2330 GMT Monday).
The ratio of job offers to job seekers, which is more sensitive to
economic conditions than the jobless rate, is expected to show the
highest level in July, since 0.64 seen in January 2009.
Haruka Kazama, economist at Mizuho Research Institute, said the
gradual improvement in the ratio of job offers to job seekers is
expected to continue, as reconstruction of the quake-hit area and
recovery in production will boost demand for labor force.
Looking ahead, Akira Maekawa, senior economist at Global Futures
and Forex (GFT), forecast the pace of improvement in job conditions
will be gradual, saying, “Firms will remain cautious about increasing
their labor force, amid growing uncertainty over the world economy.”
The government sees the unemployment rate averaging 4.5% in fiscal
2012, improving from an expected 4.7% in fiscal 2011, in its economic
outlook.
The government is compiling employment and unemployment data for
March and onward without records from the Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima
prefectures, the hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami that wrecked
the northeastern Pacific coast.
For the time being, the government will release only national data
minus the three prefectures from the monthly Labour Force survey.
skodama@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4838 **
[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$]
