The Labor Force Survey and Unemployment: A Philosophical Note

Koji Taira

Japanese Economy, 1985, vol. 14, issue 1, 3-33

Abstract: The charge that the official unemployment rate of Japan is a misleading indicator of labor force underutilization has been heard ever since Japan's labor force survey began in July 1947 after a test period of several months (Magota and Honda 1974:46). When the general public felt that Japan was full of unemployed and underemployed workers, the labor force survey produced an incredible picture of "full employment." The official unemployment rate was only 0.7 percent in 1948 and 1.0 percent in 1949. The concepts were also strange to the ordinary Japanese. The modern labor force survey was generous in classifying as "employed" anyone who worked even an hour during the survey week, while in the popular feeling, working only an hour per week was more unemployed than employed.

Date: 1985
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DOI: 10.2753/JES1097-203X14013

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