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抄訳付きの社説はThe Japan Times Weeklyからの転載です。Weekly Onlineはこちら


Government should realize low wages hinder real economic recovery
(From The Japan Times August 20 issue)

 


経済成長を阻む低賃金

The Cabinet Office has announced that Japan's gross domestic product for the April-June period grew 0.1 percent, or an annualized 0.5 percent, in real terms from the previous quarter. This points to slowing growth in Japan, although economic activities as a whole continue to expand.

The growth figures are weaker than the 0.8 percent (annualized 3.2 percent) for January-March and the 1.3 percent (annualized 5.4 percent) for October-December 2006. On the positive side, nominal GDP showed a greater growth rate (0.3 percent) than real GDP, reversing the previous quarter's trend. The nominal GDP figure reflects more accurately how economic conditions are felt by consumers and enterprises.

In addition, the domestic demand deflator, a key measure of domestic price trends, rose 0.2 percent, reversing the 0.1 percent decrease in the previous quarter and representing the first increase since the July-September 2006 quarter.

Economics and Fiscal Policy Minister Hiroko Ota said there has been no change in the fundamental direction of the economy and that the recovery is continuing. But optimism about the prospect of the Japanese economy, at least in the short term, is not warranted. Exports for April-June grew only 0.9 percent from the previous quarter a large drop from the 3.4 percent growth for the January-March period.

Capital spending, a key engine of the nation's economic recovery, expanded 1.2 percent, assisted by equipment investment in such areas as electronics, communications and construction up from 0.3 percent in the previous quarter.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 55 percent of GDP in real terms, grew by only 0.4 percent, down from the 0.8 percent for the January-March period and the 1.1 percent from the October-December 2006 period. Spending for recreation, sports services and expensive luxurious items did not increase. One reason for sluggish consumer spending is the abolition of deductions for income and residential taxes, which led people to tighten their purse strings. But the fundamental reason for stagnant consumer spending is that high profits realized by the corporate sector have not adequately benefited the household sector in the form of higher wages, although the unemployment rate in June came down to a nine-year low of 3.7 percent.

According to the health and labor ministry, monthly wages in June, including bonuses, decreased by 1.1 percent from the same month a year before, representing a drop for seven consecutive months.

The Cabinet Office says aggregate wages for the April-June period grew only 0.2 percent in nominal terms from the year before and 0.1 percent nominally from the previous quarter (a 0.1 percent decrease in real terms). The Cabinet Office says that while the number of employed people is increasing, the per capita wage is decreasing.

The figures related to GDP match what is said in the government's fiscal 2007 economy and public finance white paper published Aug. 7. It pointed out that the sluggishness of wage growth in contrast to the good performance of the corporate sector makes consumers feel that they are not sufficiently reaping the benefit of the recovery.

It said that an increase in the percentage of irregular workers such as part-time workers and temporary workers dispatched by employment agencies in the total workforce is pushing down the level of the per capita wage. In the second half of the 1980s, these workers accounted for less than 20 percent of the workforce. But they now account for about one-third. The white paper also mentioned such factors as the retirement of baby boomers in large numbers, resulting in a loss of a sizable portion of workers' aggregate wage, as well as wage reductions for local government workers.

The government and businesses should realize that keeping wages low will lead not only to weaker domestic demand but also to a deterioration in the quality of the workforce, thus weakening Japan's international competitiveness.

The Japan Times Weekly: August 25, 2007
(C) All rights reserved
 

内閣府が発表した4〜6月期国民所得統計速報によると、実質国内総生産(GDP)は前期比0.1%増(年率0.5%増)となり、成長率は鈍化した。1〜3月期の実質成長率は0.8%増(年率3.2%増)、昨年10〜12月期は1.3%増(年率5.4%増)だった。

国内需要デフレータはプラス0.2%と1〜3月期のマイナス0.1%から改善、06年7〜9月期以来のプラスとなった。

大田経済財政担当相は、景気の基調に大きな変化はなく、回復が持続していると評価した。だが、経済見通しについて楽観は許されない。輸出はプラス0.9%増と、1〜3月の3.4%増に比べ、増加率が大きく鈍化した。

設備投資は、電子、通信、建設産業などの活発な投資もあって1.2%増(前期は0.3%増)となった。

実質GDPの55%を占める消費支出はわずか0.4%増で、1〜3月期の6.8%増、昨年10〜12月期の1.1%増から大きく後退した。基本的理由は、企業の高収益が賃金に反映されていないことだ。

厚労省によれば、6月の現金給与総額は前年同期比1.1%減で、7ヶ月連続減となった。雇用労働者の4〜6月の給与総額は名目で前年同期比0.2%増、前期比0.1%増(実質0.1%減)だった。雇用労働者の数は増加しているが、1人当たり賃金は減少している。

07年版の財政経済白書も、企業収益が増加している一方で、賃金増加は鈍いと指摘している。労働者全体に占める派遣社員などの非正規労働者の割合の増加が1人当たり賃金を押し下げているという。政府と企業は、賃金を低レベルで放置すれば、国内需要を弱めるだけでなく、労働力の質を劣化させ、日本の国際競争力を劣化させることを忘れてはならない。

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