Recent Statistical Survey Reports, March 2004

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Statistical Survey Reports

Survey on Labor Economy Trends (February 2004)

Wednesday, March 3, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

The Diffusion index (DI) ("Insufficient" - "Excessive") for judging the shortage/excessiveness of regular employees was 6 in February (1 in November); shortage of employment has been strengthened.

The ratio of establishments that executed the employment adjustment during a period of Oct.-Dec. 2003 was 17%, 2 points lower than the previous quarter.

Survey on Situation of Preliminary Job Offer for New Graduate in Mar.2004 (Senior and Junior High School) (End of January)

Friday, March 12, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

The ratio of active job openings to applicants for final-year senior high school students was 1.10, increased by 0.04 points from a year earlier. The number of final-year senior high school students with official job offer was 145 thousand, increased by 1.8% from a year earlier. The ratio of applicants who got job offer was 76.7%, increased by 2.3 points.

The ratio of active job openings to applicants for final-year junior high school students was 0.57, decreased by 0.03 points from a year earlier.

Survey on Situation of Preliminary Job Offer for New Graduate in Mar.2004 (University, etc.) (February 1)

Friday, March 12, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare,
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

The ratio of final-year university students with preliminary job offer was 82.1%, decreased by 1.4 points from a year earlier.

That of final-year junior college students (female only) was 68.5%, decreased by 2.1 points from a year earlier.

That of final-year technology college students (male only) was 98.3%, increased by 5.4 points from a year earlier.

That of final-year higher vocational school students was 69.8%, increased by 4.2 points from a year earlier.

Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2003)

Thursday, March 18, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

The average scheduled cash earnings for general employees was 302,100 yen, decreased by 0.2% from the previous year. That for men was 335,500 yen (decreased by 0.2% from the previous year), and that for women was 224,200 yen (increased by 0.3%).

Hourly wages of part-time employee for men was 1,003 yen (increased by 1.2% from the previous year), that for women was 893 yen (increased by 0.2%).

The Result of Year-end Bonus negotiations among Major Private Enterprises (2003)

Thursday, March 18, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

The amount of agreed year-end bonus was 771,540 yen, increased by 1.97% from the previous year, first increase in 2 years.

Consumer Price Index (February, Ku-areas in Tokyo in March and 2003)

Friday, March 26, released by Public Management,
Home Affairs, Posts and TeleCommunications

Consumer price index unchanged from a year earlier, and that of Ku-areas in Tokyo in March also unchanged.

Consumer price index of Ku-areas in Tokyo in 2003 decreased by 0.4% from a year earlier.

Family Income and Expenditure Survey (February)

Friday, March 26, released by Ministry of Public Management,
Home Affairs, Posts and TeleCommunications

Monthly living expenditure per workers' household rose for the 4th consecutive month by 6.9% in real value from a year earlier.

Indices of Industrial Production (Preliminary Report for February)

Tuesday, March 30, released by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

The index of industrial production (seasonally adjusted) dropped by 3.7% from the previous month. The index was expected to increase in March and April.

Labor Force Survey (February)

Tuesday, March 30, released by Ministry of Public Management,
Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications

Report on Employment Service (February)

Tuesday, March 30, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) was 5.0%, unchanged from the previous month.

That for women decreased by 0.1point to 4.5%, while that for men increased by 0.2 points to 5.4%.

The number of unemployed persons decreased for the 9th consecutive month from a year earlier to 3.30 million.

The number of employees (seasonally adjusted) decreased by 0.1 % from the previous month.

The ratio of active job openings to applicants (seasonally adjusted) was 0.77, unchanged from the previous month.

Basic Survey on Business Structure and Activities (2003)

Tuesday, March 30, released by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

The number of full-time employees per one company in FY 2002 decreased by 2.8% from the previous fiscal year, while that of part-time employees increased by 4.8%. That of dispatched workers swelled by 26.8%.

Monthly Labor Survey (Preliminary Report in February / Year-end Bonus)

Wednesday, March 31, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Total cash earnings (for establishments with 5 or more employees) decreased by 0.1% from a year earlier, and contractual cash earnings decreased by 0.3%.

Non--scheduled hours worked in manufacturing (for establishments with 5 or more employees, seasonally adjusted) decreased by 0.7% from the previous month, the first decrease in 5 months.

The amount of year-end bonus was 428,475 yen, decreased for the 7th consecutive month by 1.3% from the previous year.

TANKAN (Short-Term Economic Survey of Enterprises) (March)

Thursday, April 1, released by the Bank of Japan(PDF:162KB)

The Diffusion Index (DI) ("Favorable" - "Unfavorable") for business sentiment in large enterprises increased to 12 for manufacturing and to 5 for non-manufacturing.

The Diffusion Index (DI) ("Excessive" - "Insufficient") for employment sentiment in large enterprises of all industry was 8, excessiveness decreased 2 points from the previous quarter.
(*The corporate samples were reviewed since Dec.2003 survey)

Other Reports

Monthly Economic Report (March)

Monday, March 15, released by Cabinet Office

The economy continues recovering steadily, supported by business investment and exports.

• Exports are rising rapidly, and industrial production is also increasing.
• Corporate profits continue to improve and business investment is increasing.
• Private consumption is picking up.
• While the employment situation continues to be severe, movements of an incipient recovery can be seen.
• As for short-term prospects, the economic recovery in Japan is expected to continue as the world economy recovers. On the other hand, attention should be given to the developments of exchange rates in particular.

Monthly Labor Economy Report (March)

Tuesday, March 16, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

While the employment situation still remains severe with the unemployment rate remaining at a high level, movements of an incipient recovery can be seen.

Actual Situation of Working Women (2003)

Monday, March 29, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare