## (Increasing professional and engineering workers)

Looking at the long-term transition of the employment composition by occupation, the ratio of "professional and engineering workers" increased from 6.6% in 1970 to 14.5% in 2010, and the ratio of "clerical workers" increased from 14.0% in 1970 to 18.4% in 2010 (Figure 16).

## (Decrease in public capital formation which greatly affected regional employment)

By plotting the relationship between the changes in the composition ratio of public capital formation to the gross prefectural product and the changes in the regional increase rate of the employed and the ratio of the number of workers in the construction industry to the number of workers in the region, we can see that the decrease of public capital formation had a more profound effect on the decrease of the number of workers in the regional blocks including Hokkaido, Tohoku and Shikoku, than the 3 major urban regions, i.e. South Kanto, Kinki and Tokai (Figure 17).

### Section 3. Employment creation and employment loss

The entry rate tended to decrease until 1998 and remained at the same level after that year; the entry rate was higher than the exit rate until 2000, but the gap between the entry rate and the exit rate has been closing in recent years.

After the 1990s, the self-employed individuals in the industries other than agriculture, forestry and fishery started to decrease; before that, the they were supplying a certain level of employment opportunity.

## (The gap between the entry rate and the exit rate has been closing)

Looking at the entry rate and the exit rate of business establishments hiring workers in and after 1981, the entry rate tended to decrease by 1998 and then generally remained unchanged; by 2000, the entry rate exceeded the exit rate and the number of business establishments was increasing, but after 2000 the entry rate and exit rate have come close and intersected, indicating that the number of business establishments is not increasing so much in recent years (Figure 18).

## (New business openings did not recover for the manufacturing industry)

In 2009 when the impact of the financial crisis was grave, the net decrease rate of employment was largest in the transportation, postal services and manufacturing industry, in which the effect of employment loss was strong in continuing business establishments. The decrease rate was alleviated in 2010; in the transportation and postal services, the employment loss in continuing business establishments was reduced and the effect of opening new business establishments became stronger than in 2009; in the manufacturing industry, the employment loss in continuing business establishments was reduced and employment creation was expanded, but the effect of opening new business establishments became weaker than in 2009.

## (By 1980s, self-employed individuals were supplying a certain level of employment opportunity)

Looking at the transition of the number of self-employed individuals in the industries other than agriculture, forestry and fishery, the number reached a peak of 7.07 million persons in 1983, showing the tendency of increase by then. The number began to show a downward trend in the 1990s. The pace of increase of employees slowed in the late 1990s; it can be said that up until several years before that, the self-employed individuals in the industry of agriculture, forestry and fishery also provided a certain level of employment opportunity.