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Change Your Life! |
Japan earmarks 400 bl yen to create jobs |
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May 17, 2000
TOKYO, MAY 16 (AP) - In a move to ease record-high unemployment, the Japanese government on Tuesday unveiled plans to spend 400 billion yen (dlrs 3.67 billion) creating jobs.
The funds are earmarked for programs to support small businesses and other measures intended to create 350,000 jobs over the next 12 months.
The initiative comes as Japan's deepest economic slump in decades has forced many companies to cut jobs. Unemployment reached a record 4.9 percent in February and March.
The Labor Ministry said it will offer incentives aimed at encouraging small businesses to employ an additional 100,000 workers. It is targeting another 30,000 new jobs in the nursing care industry.
The plan includes provisions for local governments to temporarily employ 150,000 workers using funds from the central government.
The government expects to add another 70,000 jobs in growth industries including health services by providing subsidies to employers.
The ministry also announced that the government will set up a 60 billion yen (dlrs 550.9 million) reserve which can be used if the nation's unemployment rate rises above 5 percent.
The Japanese government has approved record amounts of emergency public spending in an effort to lift the world's second-largest economy out of its doldrums.
Though the measures have stimulated growth, they have left Japan with an unprecedented level of public debt.
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