February - jobless rate unchanged at 4.9%

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent in February, unchanged from the previous month.

However, overall jobless ranks rose by 250,000 from a year earlier to 3.24 million, the 16th straight monthly expansion.

Of the total, 1.10 million people lost their jobs involuntarily due to the decisions of their employers, up 160,000 from a year before.

The jobless rate, the lowest level since March 2009 when it stood at 4.8 percent.

Some economists are hoping the worst may also be over on the employment front, but a possible slowdown in industrial production in the coming months could create a drag on the recovery.

A report released Tuesday says industrial output in February weakened for the first time in a year, falling a larger than expected seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent from the previous month.

"Signs of a slowdown in output by automakers and high-tech makers, which have played a major role in pulling Japan out of a serious recession, in the April-June quarter is a source of concern to the job market's near future," said Jun Tsukasa, chief economist at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc.

In February, jobholders fell by 800,000 to 61.85 million, marking the 25th straight month of decline, with the manufacturing industry continuing to see big job losses despite a recent pickup in exports.

Employment in manufacturing fell by 540,000 from the previous year to 10.49 million. However, the latest shrinkage was smaller than the 750,000 job losses in both January and December.

In contrast, the medical and social welfare services sector saw a sharp rise in the number of jobholders, up 420,000 to 6.59 million. The rise is the largest since July 2004, according to the ministry.

The jobless rate for men was 5.2 percent, unchanged from January, and that for women fell 0.2 point to 4.4 percent.

Tsukasa said the improvement in the women's unemployment rate is apparently connected to a rise in the number of part-time job offers made to young and elderly women in the retail and social welfare industries.

The ratio of job offers to job seekers was at a seasonally adjusted 0.47, up from 0.46 in January, the labor ministry said. This means there were 47 jobs available for every 100 job seekers.

The ratio, which improved for the second straight month, was the best reading since last April.

The number of job offers jumped 1.5 percent from the previous month and that of job seekers fell 1.9 percent, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20100331a3.html

February - Household spending declines 0.5%

Average monthly household spending in February dropped 0.5% from a year ago in price-adjusted real terms to 261,163 yen, marking the first year-on-year decline in seven months, according to the government.

The preliminary data on spending by households of two people or more were released by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry on Tuesday.

The ministry attributed the fall in household spending to a lower spending on car purchase, saying that statistics on car purchase tend to volatile.

The ministry therefore believes that the recovery trend in household spending remains unchanged.

On the other hand, the average monthly income of salaried households increased 1.3 percent from a year ago to 464,866 yen in February, marking the first increase in seven months.

The increase is believed to result from the improved employment rates among women and delayed payment of winter bonuses by some small and midsize companies that were unable to pay the bonus at the end of last year.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100330006235.htm

February - retail sales rise 4.2%

Japan's retail sales jumped for the second straight month in February, offering a sign the country's economic recovery is broadening to households.

Sales rose 4.2 percent from a year earlier, driven by higher demand for cars, energy and machinery, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday. Retail sales rose 2.3 percent in January from a year earlier.

But the gains may not mean that demand is strong enough to reverse dangerous deflationary pressures. The country's core consumer price index fell 1.2 percent in February from a year earlier for the 12th consecutive month of decline.

Before January, retail sales had declined for 15 straight months as the world's second biggest economy struggled to emerge from its worst recession since World War II.

Robust export demand from emerging economies like China is helping Japan grow again but the recovery has been slow to reach workers and families as companies continued to cut costs.

In January, wage declines decelerated and the unemployment rate fell to a 10-month low of 4.9 percent. Growing consumer confidence unexpectedly pushed up retail sales 0.9 percent from a month earlier.

Large-scale retailers, which includes supermarkets and department stores, did not fare as well. Sales fell 4 percent from the previous year after adjusting for a change in the number of stores.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/business/news/20100329p2g00m0dm018000c.html

2011 graduate job prospects as grim

Graduates from universities or high schools in spring 2011 will face much the same difficulty in getting jobs as this spring's recruits, according to a survey by The Asahi Shimbun.

The survey of 100 companies found that 48 firms plan to hire next year roughly the same number of graduates as they do this spring.

Fifteen companies will hire more graduates next spring, while 21 will take on fewer. Sixteen companies were undecided. A year ago, the corresponding numbers were six firms hiring more, 37 hiring the same, 44 hiring fewer and 13 undecided.

As of February, 80 percent of university seniors had landed jobs. The figure was the lowest since 2000.

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201003280269.html

February - Exports jump 45.3% on PY

Japan's exports jumped a year-on-year 45.3 percent in February to 5,128.67 billion yen, the third straight monthly expansion, adding to signs that the nation's gradual economic recovery has been driven by growing demand from the rest of Asia and the United States, Finance Ministry data showed Wednesday.

Exports to all regions turned positive for the first time since August 2007, the ministry said, adding that the growth rate is the third largest on record.

Imports rose for the second straight month, up 29.5 percent to 4,477.69 billion yen, registering the biggest growth since February 2006, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

As a result, Japan's trade surplus stood at 650.98 billion yen, up 818.8 percent -- the second largest on record.

Exports to China widened for the fourth consecutive month, up 47.7 percent to 902.42 billion yen, with demand for passenger cars, auto parts and high-tech devices strengthening.

Imports from China, Japan's No. 1 trading partner, grew for the first time in 16 months, up 54.3 percent to 926.98 billion yen, partly because shipments of clothing expanded for the first time since last March.

With its Asian neighbors, Japan's exports rose 55.7 percent to 2,775.59 billion yen, as more semiconductors and electronic components were shipped to such economies as Taiwan and Malaysia.

To the United States, exports increased for the second month running, up 50.4 percent to 837.07 billion yen, as shipments of cars in terms of value ballooned a record 129.9 percent from a year ago.

Finance Ministry officials said the latest figures show that Toyota Motor Corp.'s recall problems did not lead to a slowdown in exports of Japanese cars and other manufactured products to the U.S. market.

However, they noted that the record growth in auto shipments is attributable to a favorable year-on-year comparison.

In February, Japan's exports reached about 70 percent of their peaks before the economic crisis took a heavy toll on almost all kinds of businesses.

Shipments to the European Union rose for the third straight month, up 19.7 percent to 588.02 billion yen. Imports grew for the first time in 17 months, up 7.3 percent to 422.08 billion yen, with more pharmaceutical products and cars entering the Japanese market.

By region, exports to the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, and Russia turned positive in the reporting month for the first time in many months, according to the ministry.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/business/news/20100324p2g00m0bu034000c.html

2009 - Household assets rise for 1st time in 3 years

The outstanding balance of the nation's household financial assets at the end of 2009 climbed by 2.5 percent from a year earlier, posting its first increase in three years, according to the Bank of Japan.

The central bank's quarterly flow of funds report said the outstanding balance of household financial assets in the October-December period that ended on Dec. 31 last year rose by 35 trillion yen to 1.46 yen quadrillion.

The balance stayed above the 1.4 yen quadrillion mark for the seventh straight year.

An increase in the value of shares and investment trusts thanks to a recovery of stock prices pushed up the value of households' financial assets, the central bank said.

By type of financial asset, shares and other equities, valued at 97 trillion yen, saw a 16.2 percent year-on-year increase, while assets in the form of investment trust and beneficiary certificates rose by 10.8 percent to 53 trillion yen.

Household assets in the shape of cash and deposits, which account for 55.2 percent of the total, rose by 1.5 percent to 804 trillion yen--a record high since the central bank began compiling such data in 1979.

The Bank of Japan said households' efforts to cut back on spending to cope with unchanged or declining incomes helped increase the financial assets.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100323005811.htm

February - Consumer Sentiment up for 2nd Straight month

Consumer sentiment improved for the second straight month in February, amid easing worries about a double-dip recession, the government said Monday.

The index of sentiment among households made up of two or more people gained 0.8 point from January to 39.8, reaching the highest level since last October, the Cabinet office said.

However, the gauge remained below the threshold of 50, indicating that pessimistic views outnumber optimistic ones.

The index is calculated based on whether consumers expect the economy in four areas -- livelihoods, income growth, employment and willingness to buy durable goods -- will "improve," "improve somewhat," "remain unchanged," "deteriorate somewhat" or "deteriorate" over the coming six months.

All the components marked increases. Livelihoods rose 0.9 point to 40.7, income growth grew 0.9 point to 38.8, employment jumped 1.1 points to 34.2 and willingness to buy durable goods gained 0.1 point to 45.4.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9EEU0N00&show_article=1