┌（゜Д゜）┘英字新聞
Govt must strive hard to secure employment
With the nation's severe employment situation continuing, it comes as no surprise that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has vowed that his government will grapple with the problem in a bid to secure jobs.
To this end, the government's emergency task force announced an emergency employment package on Friday.
As specific measures toward providing a job-related safety net, the package contains plans to beef up employment support and housing consultation at public job placement offices, reinforce career training, and relax criteria for receiving employment-adjustment subsidies.
Most of these steps expand on existing measures put forward by the administration of former Prime Minister Taro Aso. Though they are not completely new, the government must steadily implement each measure and bring them to fruition.
Hatoyama's administration said the emergency measures would be applied flexibly in accordance with changing situations. We believe such a stance necessitates a rethink of the measures or the mulling of additional steps.
In the past, many measures have not been utilized due to their unpopularity, despite receiving large budget allocations. In light of this, the government should implement the measures--including those already in practice--while carefully monitoring their effects.
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Grim statistics
The number of unemployed reached 3.61 million in August, an increase of 890,000 from one year ago. The ratio of job offers to job seekers stood at a seasonally adjusted 0.42, the lowest on record.
Since spring, job openings have been falling below comparable figures for the same months last year in all 11 major industries, including manufacturing, information and communications. Presently, there are no industries capable of absorbing jobless people.
Even with career-focused training, people cannot put skills into practice without jobs.
Measures to expand and create employment are a pressing task.
While the emergency package aims at creating jobs in such industries as nursing care, farming, forestry and fisheries, as well as tourism and environmental fields, it does not specify numerical targets, such as how many jobs could be created over the next one to two years in each industry. Such fields are frequently cited as growing industries, and it would be a notable achievement if a concrete path could be laid to realize the measures.
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Matters of urgency
Some observers have voiced optimism, saying recovery in corporate production activities due to overseas factors and other determinants would constitute a glimmer of hope for employment. However, the government, for its part, should consider policies and measures to rejuvenate the industries as a whole through stimulus measures.
Helping new graduates find stable jobs and asking companies to expand mid-career employment and year-round recruitment are among other steps that will be introduced.
Third-year high school students who wish to work after graduation are finding it difficult to get jobs due to a drastic decline in employment offers. Job prospects for university students graduating next spring also look unpromising. We believe these points are matters of great urgency.
We hope the government will make good on the commitments contained in the emergency employment package and strengthen its efforts in combination with its industrial and educational policies.
With the nation's severe employment situation continuing, it comes as no surprise that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has vowed that his government will grapple with the problem in a bid to secure jobs.
To this end, the government's emergency task force announced an emergency employment package on Friday.
As specific measures toward providing a job-related safety net, the package contains plans to beef up employment support and housing consultation at public job placement offices, reinforce career training, and relax criteria for receiving employment-adjustment subsidies.
Most of these steps expand on existing measures put forward by the administration of former Prime Minister Taro Aso. Though they are not completely new, the government must steadily implement each measure and bring them to fruition.
Hatoyama's administration said the emergency measures would be applied flexibly in accordance with changing situations. We believe such a stance necessitates a rethink of the measures or the mulling of additional steps.
In the past, many measures have not been utilized due to their unpopularity, despite receiving large budget allocations. In light of this, the government should implement the measures--including those already in practice--while carefully monitoring their effects.
===
Grim statistics
The number of unemployed reached 3.61 million in August, an increase of 890,000 from one year ago. The ratio of job offers to job seekers stood at a seasonally adjusted 0.42, the lowest on record.
Since spring, job openings have been falling below comparable figures for the same months last year in all 11 major industries, including manufacturing, information and communications. Presently, there are no industries capable of absorbing jobless people.
Even with career-focused training, people cannot put skills into practice without jobs.
Measures to expand and create employment are a pressing task.
While the emergency package aims at creating jobs in such industries as nursing care, farming, forestry and fisheries, as well as tourism and environmental fields, it does not specify numerical targets, such as how many jobs could be created over the next one to two years in each industry. Such fields are frequently cited as growing industries, and it would be a notable achievement if a concrete path could be laid to realize the measures.
===
Matters of urgency
Some observers have voiced optimism, saying recovery in corporate production activities due to overseas factors and other determinants would constitute a glimmer of hope for employment. However, the government, for its part, should consider policies and measures to rejuvenate the industries as a whole through stimulus measures.
Helping new graduates find stable jobs and asking companies to expand mid-career employment and year-round recruitment are among other steps that will be introduced.
Third-year high school students who wish to work after graduation are finding it difficult to get jobs due to a drastic decline in employment offers. Job prospects for university students graduating next spring also look unpromising. We believe these points are matters of great urgency.
We hope the government will make good on the commitments contained in the emergency employment package and strengthen its efforts in combination with its industrial and educational policies.
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