Economics
Japan's Enviable Jobless Rate Is Failing to Fuel Price Gains
- Unemployment rate reflects country’s long-term challenges
- Tight market produces little wage gains or spending boost
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Japan’s jobless rate of 2.8 percent is easily the lowest among the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations and undoubtedly the envy of many more. But it symbolizes Japan’s challenges as much as its successes.
The number of unemployed in Japan fell in February to the lowest since 1994, reflecting a shrinking workforce that is driving a labor shortage as Japan’s population ages and shrinks. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has enjoyed some success in getting more people into jobs, including married women and seniors, but many of them only work part-time.