D.  How to evaluate employment and wage developments  As aggregate demand expands, ignited by a rise in inflation expectations, a virtuous cycle from production to income and spending operates, and thereafter, stable employment and an improvement in labor conditions would ensue.
In that regard, as mentioned earlier, an improvement in the labor market conditions since last year, such as a sizable increase in the number of employees and a substantial improvement in the unemployment rate and the active job openings-to-applicants ratio, has not been interrupted even amid the seemingly lackluster real GDP growth due to the effects of the consumption tax hike (Chart 11).