TheLandOfTheRisingSun
JAPAN INSTANTLY CALLS "HIRE ME!"
Japan Unemployment Rate
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What actions did the government take to decrease unemployment?
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The global financial crisis had dragged japan into its worst recession since World War II and lead to an increase in the unemployment rate. Many jobs concerning factories and offices had dropped at its lowest rates as well; however, farming developed and had been seen as a temporary solution towards the problem of unemployment. The government grasped the idea of agriculture since it’s one of the few industries that generated jobs and has allocated $10 million to send 900 people to job-training programs in farming, forestry, and fishing. Japan’s unemployment rate had witnessed an increase during a year from 3.9% to 4.4%, but is still lower than the U.S or Europe. The policy makers hoped the unemployed young people will help in recovering Japan’s diminishing farming population, where the total of Japan’s population consisted of only 6% people working in agriculture and most doing so only does it part time.
"If they can't find young workers over the next several years, Japan's agriculture will disappear," said Kazumasa Iwata, a government economist and former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan.
Nine trainees in Masutomi, a mountain village with 650 citizens, were kept in an abandoned hotel with a single bathroom with no shower, flush toilet or even a mirror.
"It's kind of tiring, I mean mentally, to get covered with dirt," said Hironari Ota, a 25-year- old who used to work at an online retailer.
Despite the training programs and one-year farm internships provided by the government, many young people were unable to handle life in the country side and returned back to cities. Last year, Fukiko Oshiro, a farmer in western Okayama state, hired five workers from cities to work at her nursery and fruit farm. She said she has already lost three of them.
"At least people who came before were interested in agriculture," said Ms. Oshiro. "These new applicants are coming because they have no other choice."
Unemployment rate:
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In November of 2016, Japan’s unemployment rate rose to 3.1%
Compared to the previous month, there were 2.05 million unemployed people. In 1953-2016 Japan reached an average of 2.73% of unemployment rate, it reached a high percentage of 5.60 in 2009 and a low percentage of 1.00% in 1968. Jobless rates fell as well among people aged 15 to 24 years old from 5.1% to 4.3%
