For the past five years, the Japanese economy has endured one of the worst and most prolonged recessions in its postwar history. Signs of recovery still remain modest in 1996. Though this cyclic factor is important, serious structural factors were also at work in the background, including the collapse of the myth of ever-rising land prices, long held as a given in Japan, and the primary cause of the bad debt problems of many Japanese financial institutions. It is feared that anxiety about future income may influence personal consumption. Fortunately, no serious social unrest has erupted as a result of these severe employment conditions.
Unemployment is now a hot issue in many advanced economies.
The OECD's 1994 Jobs Study cites high, non-wage personnel costs like fringe benefits and a shortened workday as sources of these high rates. Unemployment is now higher than average among the younger generation, and has led to serious social unrest in Europe. Wages remain stable, and unit labor costs remain at excellent levels. The problem in the US labor market is the widening disparity in household earnings. In contrast, Japan's employment situation has performed better.