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01/06/2000

The Unemployment Severity Index as a Measure of Qualitative Changes in Unemployment

Economic Research Department Executive Research Fellow Taro Saito 

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1. Introduction

Japan’s unemployment situation remains grim. The unemployment rate， though slightly improved from its high， remains in the mid 4% range， while the effective job openings-to-seekers ratio has settled below 0.5.

However， in addition to the high level of unemployment， a disturbing trend has been the grow-ing loss of jobs due to corporate bankruptcy and restructuring. As a result， the unemployment severity index – which measures qualitative aspects of unemployment – has risen steeply since 1998， indicating that unemployed persons are experiencing greater financial distress.

While the economy shows signs of recovery， unemployment appears unlikely to improve sig-nificantly in quantitative terms. However， the severity index points out some important quali-tative changes occurring in the unemployment situation.

Economic Research Department   Executive Research Fellow

Taro Saito

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03-3512-1836

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