日本失業(yè)率降至近25年來最低水平

The unemployment rate in Japan fell to the lowest level in nearly a quarter-century in January as the ratio of open jobs to applicants remained at the highest level since the early 1970s, highlighting an enduring shortage of workers at Japanese companies.

日本1月份失業(yè)率降至近25年最低水平，而崗位空缺與求職人數(shù)比率(ratio of open jobs to applicants)維持在自1970年代初以來的最高水平，突顯出日本企業(yè)面臨持續(xù)性的用工短缺。

Japan’s jobless rate dipped to 2.4 per cent in the first month of the year, down from 2.8 per cent in January and pushing well below a median forecast of 2.7 per cent from economists polled by Reuters.

今年1月份日本失業(yè)率下降至2.4%，低于去年12月的2.8%，且遠低于此前路透社(Reuters)調(diào)查經(jīng)濟學家給出的2.7%的預(yù)測中值。

That took unemployment in Japan to the lowest level since April 1993. Yet the country’s jobs-to-applicants ratio remained unchanged from December at 1.59 per cent.

該數(shù)據(jù)讓日本的失業(yè)率降至1993年4月以來的最低水平。然而，日本的崗位空缺與求職人數(shù)比率仍保持去年12月份的1.59不變。

That persistent gap underscores the lack of staff that has plagued Japanese companies, which are struggling to overcome the worst labour shortages in 40 years thanks to the country’s declining population and the strength of its economy after five years of stimulus.

這一持續(xù)差距突出顯示用工荒正困擾著日本企業(yè)，企業(yè)正在努力克服40年來最嚴重的勞動力短缺，原因在于日本人口持續(xù)減少，而其經(jīng)濟經(jīng)過五年的刺激后在走強。

The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sought to address the shortage and is planning a review of visa rules by the summer as it seeks more skilled foreign workers. But on Monday Mr Abe was forced to drop business-friendly labour reforms because his evidence for the reform was riddled with errors, including a data point form one worker who performed 45 hours of overtime in a single day.

安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)政府已尋求解決勞工短缺問題，并計劃在今年夏季審議簽證規(guī)則，尋求更多熟練的外國工人。但本周一安倍被迫放棄了有利于商業(yè)的勞工改革，因為他的改革理據(jù)充滿了錯誤，包括出現(xiàn)了一名工人一天加班45小時的數(shù)據(jù)錯誤。