Nov 01 (Japan Times) - Companies continued to face a severe labor shortage in September, with job availability remaining at historic highs, government data showed Tuesday.
The job-to-applicant ratio stood at 1.52, unchanged from August, meaning that 152 positions were available for every 100 job seekers. It remained at the highest level since February 1974, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.8 percent, as the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry maintained its official view that the employment situation is "steadily improving."
After six straight quarters of growth, the economy remains on a moderate recovery trend. Economists are keeping close tabs on whether wage growth will accelerate and private consumption will gather strength.
Average monthly household spending, a key indicator of private consumption, slipped 0.3 percent in September from a year earlier in real terms to ¥268,802.
"Private consumption is recovering moderately as the employment situation is good and wages have been rising, albeit at a moderate pace," said Yuichiro Nagai, an economist at Barclays Securities Japan Ltd.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has touted the country's improving labor market as one of the achievements under his Abenomics policy mix that entails bold monetary easing by the Bank of Japan.
The job-to-applicant ratio for regular workers improved further to 1.02 in September, potentially a good sign for future wage growth, according to the labor ministry data. It rose above 1 in June for the first time since officials began compiling comparable data in 2004.
The unemployment rate for men stayed flat at 2.9 percent while that for women was up 0.2 percentage point to 2.7 percent. The number of unemployed people increased 20,000, or a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent from August, to 1.88 million.
