In the household sector, the employment and income situation has been improving steadily; as a result, private consumption has been resilient. Turning to labor market conditions, the active job openings-to-applicants ratio is currently 1.24, a level last seen in 1992, and the unemployment rate has declined to 3.1 percent, a level last seen in 1995.
Thus, labor market conditions have continued to tighten and Japan is in a situation close to “full employment.” As seen in the diffusion index for employment conditions released in the September Tankan, firms’ perception that they are facing a shortage of labor has intensified, and labor market  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  conditions seem to continue to be tight despite the flattening of exports and production (Chart 2).