The Bank of Japan halted its monetary easing program, affirming its readiness to defend its goal of 2% inflation if necessary. The survey is closely monitored by economists because it typically indicates the actual strengths or weaknesses in the labor market. However, due to the slow rate of price growth, this was seen by many as an indication that the central bank would move to further defend itself from its inflation target, potentially pushing back the date of its original inflation policy from 2015 to 2016.