EDITORIAL: Emergency job package

The nation's grim employment situation, which is likely to deteriorate further toward year-end, is posing an urgent policy challenge to the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

On Friday, the Hatoyama administration announced a set of emergency measures to deal with the problem.

There are no signs of improvement in the job picture, with the ranks of the unemployed surpassing 3.6 million in August.

The government is expected to incorporate employment-related measures into the proposed second supplementary budget for this fiscal year and the budget for next fiscal year. Given the severity of the situation, however, the government can ill afford to wait for these opportunities to make a policy response to the problem.

The administration's job package contains measures designed to lay the foundation for future job market growth as well as programs financed by funds created under the first extra budget formulated by the previous government of the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito coalition.

The new package, for instance, will provide livelihood support to the unemployed and help new graduates find jobs. It is also designed to stimulate job creation in local communities by supporting the activities of nonprofit organizations and social enterprises in such areas as nursing care, environmental protection and agriculture and forestry.

These measures combined are designed to create or save 100,000 jobs by the end of the current fiscal year, which runs through March.

One notable feature of the package is its emphasis on such efforts for human resources development as enhancement of job training programs.

The Hatoyama administration has been trying to figure out ways to stoke job growth without depending on public works spending. Its answer to this challenge is expanded and more effective job training.

The latest job package will establish a new program that allows people to obtain certification as caregivers while working at nursing care facilities.

This on-the-job training program is likely to lead to stable employment for many because there is a labor shortage in this area.

The government has also decided to launch ahead of schedule a program to provide both financial support and job training opportunities for the unemployed.

Major European countries budget huge amounts for job retraining programs designed as a quick path to new jobs.

Japan spent only 0.2 percent of its gross domestic product on such measures in 2006, far less than the amount shelled out by Britain or Germany.

This on-the-job training program should be widened in scope to cover nursing and other medical service jobs as well.

Another important feature of the package is that it attempts to stimulate local job formation through social enterprises.

The idea is to turn enterprises for social contribution operated by nonprofit organizations and other entities into commercially successful businesses to generate stable jobs. This is also an approach that has been promoted in Britain and other parts of Europe.

In Japan as well, various social enterprises in the area of welfare have emerged, such as day care services which accept sick children and undertakings to help jobless people without housing become financially independent.

In one example, an environmental group formed by the local government, businesses and citizens for the mission of protecting clean water is involved in crafting plans for local river and park development projects.

The government alone cannot meet all the diversified needs of the people.

Local residents, businesses, nonprofit organizations and other entities need to contribute ideas and resources to joint efforts to revitalize communities.

Such efforts lead to new job opportunities. The government should support such efforts with well-designed policy measures.

While it includes some promising new ideas and thinking for job creation, the latest package can provide temporary relief at best.

The government will probably find it necessary early next year to put together another, larger set of measures to improve the job picture that demands new money.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 24(IHT/Asahi: October 26,2009)