However, if a firm encounters a rapid temporary increase in demand – as was the case with the front-loaded increase in domestic demand prior to the consumption tax hike in April 2014 – it may find difficulty in immediately hiring sufficient numbers of workers through want ads or in quickly reassigning existing production capacity and employees to specific production lines and services.
This may adversely affect other firms, for example, in being unable to provide parts and materials or having insufficient delivery cars and drivers. This condition actually occurred among some firms and sectors in Japan until March 2014, but it seems to have improved somewhat since April. The output gap therefore seems to have improved in January–March 2014 and the opposite in April–June.