February 19, 2000 
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| February 19, 2000 | atimes.com | |
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| Japan Dark days for workers TOKYO - Reflecting the sluggish economy and darkening employment market, nearly half, or 49.8 percent, of Japanese people aged 15-74 are apprehensive about the possibility of losing jobs or being unable to find work, according to a fiscal 1999 survey by the Economic Planning Agency. This is the worst reading since the agency began the survey in 1978. As many as two-thirds of teenage girls were concerned about their job prospects, apparently due to corporate cutbacks in hiring fresh school graduates. This feeling was shared by more than half of those in their 40s. Only 20.6 percent said their livelihoods were changing for the better, less than half the peak readings of 46.2 percent scored in 1990. Men aged 40 or older were particularly pessimistic. Regarding prospects for their old age, only 17.4 percent said they were ''bright'', the lowest reading since 1978. The survey was conducted in May-June 1999, with valid responses from 4,179 men and women. (Asia Pulse/Nikkei) | |||||||||
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