Japan’s unemployment rate fell at 3.7% in December, a six year low. While the availability of jobs approve is a 6 year high. So well, that is good news. The number of contract workers were paid less than regular staff is still at a record high.  And this week Japan released GDP figures which pointed to a slower economy due to that reports and a concern over job security and wages. Now that fear seems to be holding back consumer spending before a rise in the national sales pack in April makes goods much more expensive. Prime Minister Abby has pressed large companies like Toyota to raise wages. It is not very clear that smaller companies will be able to follow suit. 

In Middle East and north Africa wage have a dubious manner, having the highest youth unemployment rate in the world. The situation is most acute in the countries of the Arab spring. In North Africa, youth unemployment rate is 29%. I think if Arab spring has indeed to a certain degree locked  out or slow down the development of the private sector, because it slow down the attracting investments coming into the Egypt.

UK unemployment rate peaked at 8.4% in 2012, right at the highest level the country’s double digit. As soon as it tumbled rapidly towards a 7%, a figure deemed significant by the Bank of England. But even that number is more than 2 % higher than previous session levels. But the creation of new jobs did not keep pace with the number of people entering the labor market, meaning the rate of unemployment rate actually rose from 7.1% to 7.2%.

The last 2 unemployment reports out of US were big disappointments. December only showed a gain of 75000 jobs. January only showed a gain of 113000 jobs. But analysts are cautioning not to read too much into these numbers because it is believed that the severe weather across the US really kept people from job hunting, kept employers from hiring. It won’t be surprising when numbers in February is impacted as well as eastern part of the country was pondered by snow and ice.