Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
The labor shortage in Japan is at its highest in more than four decades, according to new government data. Low birth rates and an aging population have resulted in a shrinking workforce.
There are currently 1.48 jobs for every applicant, the highest figure since 1974 when fast growth drove the ratio to 1.53. The data outpaces the labor shortage peak in the early 1990s, during the country's period of economic stagnation.
[...] The analyst said the number of women and older people who have been joining the labor force has increased, as "the labor shortage is forcing companies to hire people who previously weren't looking for work."
Source: RT
[T]he number of families living on an income lower than the public welfare assistance level more than doubled in the 20 years after the asset price bubble popped in 1992, according to a study by Kensaku Tomuro of Yamagata University.
Now 16 percent of Japanese children live below the poverty line, according to Health Ministry statistics, but among single-parent families, the rate hits 55 percent. Poverty rates in Osaka are among the worst.
[...] Children of single or poor parents often are ostracized in their communities, Tokumaru said, noting that other parents do not want their children playing with children from a "bad house."
Source: The Washington Post
(Score: 3, Insightful) by MostCynical on Wednesday May 31 2017, @01:08PM (3 children)
The country is expected to lose more than one-third of its population by 2060, according to one article I read.
So.. no real estate capital gains, no housing pressure, and a falling GDP and tax base.
They can't jack up export prices, or people won't buy (especially with competition from Indonesia and China)
Wages can't go anywhere but down, with decreasing local demand for goods and services from the decreasing population and the decreasing wages (yay, feedback loop)...Add those increasing taxes, and even people working in "good" jobs will eventually fall below the povery line.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday May 31 2017, @01:18PM
In other words, falling cost of living. This sort of environment boosts wages relative to the cost of living rather than the other way around.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by shrewdsheep on Wednesday May 31 2017, @02:25PM (1 child)
That's a common fallacy. Falling GDP does not imply falling wages. Wages are related to productivity and demand/supply. Both factors are favoring higher wages in Western countries in the long run.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 31 2017, @07:43PM
Agree that falling GDP does not necessitate falling wages, but wages haven't been following productivity to any meaningful degree for decades.