— See Separate Table For Details of Individual Forecasts

TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is
expected to be at 4.8% in March, up from 4.6% in February but lower than
4.9% in January, while the ratio of job offers to job seekers is
projected to have fallen to 0.60 from 0.62 in February, 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
Thursday, April 28. (2330 GMT Wednesday).

The February jobless rate of 4.6% was the lowest level since 4.5%
marked in February 2009. The data showed that Japan’s labor market had
been improving steadily until the economy was hit by the March 11
earthquake disaster.

The job offers to seekers ratio — a coincident indicator for
economic growth — stood at 0.62 in February, posting the highest figure
since 0.64 in January 2009.

The ratio had been gradually improving, after hitting a record low
of 0.43 seen in July, August, September and November 2009 (meaning there
were only 43 job offers for every 100 seekers at government placement
offices).

The focus is on how the unemployment rate in northeastern areas
just outside the disaster zone will be reflected in the March data and
how serious the impact of the disaster has been on the labor market at
the national level.

The government has said it will compile 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.

For the time being, the government will release only the national
minus the three prefectures data from its monthly Labour Force Survey.
The recent historical data dating back to January 2009 will also exclude
figures from the three prefectures.

Last month’s disaster damaged numerous production facilities in
northeastern Japan, leaving many people homeless and jobless. It has
disrupted the supply chain, leading automakers to suspend production.

The massive quake and tsunami also wrecked the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant, causing the worst radiation crisis since the 1986
Chernobyl meltdown. It forced farmers to give up on their crops and
dairy products and fishermen to stop operating along the Pacific coast.

The radiation scare has kept many foreign visitors away from Japan,
hurting tourism in not only northern provinces but also other regions.

skodama@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4838 **

[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$]