TOKYO – Ravaged by a series of storms, including the worst typhoon in decades, Japan is ramping up spending on rescue, repair and clean-up. But there’s a catch: there are more shovels than hands.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has agreed to use $6.5 million for immediate disaster relief, looks set to tap into budget reserves of $5 billion and may request more money to finance construction after Typhoon Hagibis tore through much of Japan’s main island this month, killing 79 with seven still missing.
“We’ll take fiscal steps, including a supplementary budget if necessary, so that disaster-hit local governments can do the utmost on rebuilding,” Abe said.
But however much Abe spends, a severe labor shortage means his government will struggle to repair levee breaks and other damage across a broad swath of the country.
Construction is one of the most squeezed industries in the nation’s tightest job market since the 1970s.
As Japan’s population grays and shrinks, the supply of construction workers has slumped by 28 percent from its peak in the late 1990s to around five million. Yet demand remains robust amid a nearly seven-year economic expansion and the approach of next year’s the Tokyo Olympics.
The construction industry has 5.3 job openings for every applicant, latest government data show, a ratio second only to that of security guards and far above the overall ratio of 1.6, which is the highest in decades. (Reuters)
