Japan jobless rate stands at 5.4 percent
By Daisuke Takato
Bloomberg News service
TOKYO — Japan's unemployment rate held near a record high for a fourth month and 50,000 people were thrown out of work in August as some companies cut jobs and others went bankrupt.
The unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, just below the record 5.5 percent reached in December. The world's second-biggest economy shed 20,000 jobs in August, while 40,000 people entered the work force. The number of unemployed rose to 3.65 million, a government report said.
More people are entering the work force optimistic that the country is recovering from its third recession in a decade. Yet, with about 54 companies failing each day and manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Cable Industries Ltd. and Fujitsu Ltd. cutting jobs, unemployment isn't likely to fall soon, economists said.
"The jobless rate will hover at close to a record or even higher for the time being," said Takeshi Minami, a senior economist at UFJ Capital Market Securities. "People aren't able to match up with the jobs they want."
The unemployment rate has more than doubled in the past decade, curbing consumer spending, which makes up about 55 percent of the economy. Another government report showed that spending by salaried workers fell 2 percent in August from a month earlier, and 0.3 percent from the same month a year ago.
Fujitsu, Japan's biggest business computer maker, has slashed more than 5,000 jobs in the past two months on falling overseas orders as the U.S. economy slows.
Mitsubishi Cable, which makes equipment for communications, said on Wednesday that it will shed about 670 jobs by offering early retirement and moving workers to a subsidiary.
A separate report today from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed there were 54 jobs for every 100 applicants at job placement centers last month.
Corporate bankruptcies rose in 11 of the 12 months to August, according to credit researcher Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. A record 25 publicly traded companies have failed this year, surpassing the previous record of 14 set last year.
