Japan's jobless rate climbed back to a record high of 5.5 percent in October and could rise further, as industrial output slumps, deflation deepens and household spending falters, official data showed yesterday.
The October unemployment rate was up from 5.4 percent in September, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said.
"The jobless figures were the worst since the end of World War II and will continue to remain high given the severe economic condition," said Hidehiko Fujii, an economist at Japan Research Institute.
The jobless rate for men jumped to an all-time high of 5.9 percent from 5.8 percent in September and that for women hit 5.1 percent from 4.9 percent.
"Apart from ongoing corporate restructuring, men were losing jobs because their companies went bankrupt," Fujii said.
The number of people out of work surged to 3.62 million in the month, up 100,000 from a year earlier, marking the 19th consecutive monthly increase.
Japan's jobless rate previously hit 5.5 percent in December last year.
Economists said the jobless rate would remain under pressure as more companies were slashing staff and wages to boost profitability.
"Companies had no choice but to cut more jobs and wages because their profits were so meager under the current economy," said Masahi Murata, an economist at UFJ Institute.
Troubled computer maker Fujitsu Ltd. said last month it would cut 7,100 jobs in the year to March in a bid to stem its extensive losses.
"Workers, for their part, continued to worry about their future and job security and had no inclination to spend freely," the economist noted.
Spending by salaried households declined 0.7 percent year-on-year in October after rising 4.1 percent the previous month, the ministry said. Wage income fell 1.6 percent to 472,935 yen (US$3,880).
Adding to the gloom, Japanese consumer prices in October slipped 0.9 percent year-on-year, marking the 38th consecutive monthly drop.
Deflation deters consumption as people wait for prices to fall further. This has the consequent effect of eating into corporate profits and hindering economic growth.
Last week Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi ordered an extra budget for the current financial year. He did so in an attempt to halt sliding prices and end a 12-year slump in the world's second largest economy.
The package will include an extra three trillion yen (US$24.6 billion) for public works projects and a social safety net.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained