Recent Statistical Survey Reports, September 2004

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Statistical Survey Reports

Survey on Labor Economy Trends (August 2004)

Wednesday, September 1, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

The Diffusion Index (D.I.) for judging the shortage or excessiveness of regular employee in August was 8 (6 in May), shortage of employment has been slightly accelerated.

The ratio of establishments that executed the employment adjustment during Apr.-Jun. 2003 was 15%, a slight decrease from the previous quarter (17%).

Survey on Job Introduction for New Graduates in Mar. 2004 (Senior and Junior High School) (End of June)

Thursday, September 9, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

The ratio of job openings to applicants for new graduates of senior high school was 1.30, 0.03 points higher than the previous year, and the ratio of entering employment was 95.9%, marking the second consecutive increase.

Survey on Preliminary Offer of Hiring of New Graduates in Mar. 2004 (Senior and Junior High School) (End of July)

Thursday, September 9, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

The ratio of job openings to applicants for final-grade senior high school students was 0.69, 0.16 points higher than the previous year.

The ratio of job openings to applicants for final-grade junior high school students was 0.15, 0.01 point higher than the previous year.

Survey on Labor Union(FY2003)

Friday, September 10, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

68.8% of labor unions saw lower membership than 3 years ago.

National Accounts (The 2nd Preliminary Estimates of Expenditure in Apr.-Jun.)

Friday, September 10, released by Cabinet Office

Real GDP (Gross Domestic Product) increased by 0.3% from the previous quarter (1.3% on annual basis).

Of real GDP growth rate, 0.0% was contributed by domestic demand and 0.3% by external demand.

Survey of Regional Child Welfare Work (FY2003)

Friday, September 17, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

11.1% of fathers and 64.4% of mothers felt effects of child-birth and child-rearing on work had changed.

Survey of Salaries in Private Sector (FY2003)

Friday, September 24, released by National Tax Administration

The number of salaried employees who had worked throughout FY2003 was 44.66 million, 0.1% lower than the previous year, and the average earnings was 4.44 million yen, 0.9% lower than the previous year (decreased for 6 years in a row).

Business Outlook Survey (Jul.-Sep.)

Friday, September 27, released by Cabinet Office, Ministry of Finance

Difference of Employment BSI ("insufficient" - "excessive") increased in both large-scale, medium-sized, and small-to-medium-sized corporations compared to the previous quarter.

Report on Social Welfare Administrative Operations (FY2003)

Wednesday, September 29, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

One of the main reasons for households receiving welfare payments from Sep.03 was "decrease/loss of earnings" (20.4%). "Unemployed" (6.4%) consists a part of 20.4%.

General Survey on Working Conditions (2004)

Thursday, September 30, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

39.0% of enterprises were adopting a 5-day workweek system (35.9% in the previous year).

The average number of annual paid vacation taken was 8.5days (8.8 in the previous year).

Indices of Industrial Production (Preliminary Report in August)

Thursday, September 30, released by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

The index of industrial production (seasonally adjusted) increased by 0.3% from the previous month. The index is expected to increase in September and decrease in October.

Consumer Price Index (August)

Friday, October 1, released by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

Consumer Price Index decreased by 0.2% from a year earlier, and that in Ku-areas of Tokyo in September decreased by 0.2%.

Family Income and Expenditure Survey (August)

Friday, October 1, released by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

Living expenditure in workers' household decreased by 0.2% in real values from a year earlier.

Labor Force Survey (August)

Friday, October 1, released by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

Report on Employment Service (August)

Friday, October 1, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) was 4.8%, decreased by 0.1 points from the previous month. That for men ecreased by 0.4points to 4.9% while that for women increased by 0.2 points to 4.6%.

The ratio of active job openings to applicants (active opening rate is seasonally adjusted) was 0.83, unchanged from the previous month.

The number of employees (seasonally adjusted) increased for the 2nd consecutive month by 0.4% from the previous month.

The number of unemployed persons dropped for the 15th consecutive month from a year earlier to 3.14 million.

TANKAN (Short-term Economic Survey of Enterprises) (September)

Friday, October 1, released by the Bank of Japan (PDF:170KB)

The Diffusion Index (D.I., "Favorable" - "Unfavorable" ) for judging business condition of manufacturing industry (large enterprises) was 26 (22 in the previous quarter and forecasting 21 in the next quarter), increased for the 6th consecutive quarter. That of non-manufacturing was 11 (9 in the previous quarter and forecasting 10 in the next quarter).

D.I. for judging employment condition (all industry) ( "Excessive" - "Insufficient" ) of large enterprises was 4 (6 in the previous quarter and forecasting 3 in the next quarter).

Monthly Labor Survey (Preliminary Report in August)

Monday, October 4, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Total cash earnings (for establishments with 5 or more employees) decreased by 0.2% from a year earlier. Contractual cash earnings decreased by 0.3%.

Non-scheduled hours worked in manufacturing (for establishments with 5 or more employees, seasonally adjusted) increased for the first time in 2 months by 1.0% from the previous

Other Reports

Monthly Economic Report (September)

Thursday, September 9, released by Cabinet Office

The economy is recovering at a solid pace.

• Exports are rising, and industrial production is also increasing.
• Exports are rising slowly, and industrial production is increasing moderately.
• Corporate profits are improving sharply and business investment is increasing.
• Private consumption is increasing moderately.
• The employment situation is improving, though some severe aspects remain.
• As for short-term prospects, the economic recovery is expected to continue as the domestic private demand increases steadily. On the other hand, attention should be given to the effects on the economies of developments of crude oil prices, and to the world economic situations and other factors.

Monthly Labor Economy Report (September)

Friday, September 10, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

The employment situation is improving, though some severe aspects remain.

White Paper on the Labor Economy (2004)

Friday, September 10, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

2003 - 2004 Foreign Affairs Report "Trends of falling birthrate among foreign countries and support measures for fostering the future generation"

Friday, September 24, released by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare