Feature: Structure of Japan's Labor Market
Beth Macdonald / Unsplash
Decoding the structural challenges of Japan's labor market — unemployment, non-regular employment, and wage disparities — through data.
Why ISVD covers this topic
Japan's low unemployment rate appears to signal a healthy labor market. But beneath the surface lie deep divisions by age, gender, and employment type. High youth unemployment, expanding non-regular employment, and stagnant real wages — ISVD believes that reading these not as isolated labor policy problems but as manifestations of social structure leads to the next stage of social design.
Articles — 2
The Structure of Unemployment — Reading Today's Employment Through Age Groups and Job Openings Ratios
Japan's overall unemployment rate appears stable in the mid-2 percent range, yet the rate for workers aged 15–24 runs roughly twice as high. By examining the relationship between unemployment and job openings-to-applicants ratios, we uncover the structural realities of today's labor market.
Employment 'Quantity' Has Recovered — But What About 'Quality'? Structural Challenges in Japan's Labor Market as Revealed by Data
An unemployment rate of 2.5% and a job openings-to-applicants ratio of 1.19. Macro statistics indicate employment recovery, yet real wages stagnate, 37.2% of workers hold non-regular positions, and occupational mismatch remains deeply entrenched. A data-driven examination of the 'quality' deficit in Japan's employment landscape.
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