As for the employment situation, the unemployment rate, which had remained between approximately 4 to 6 percent, jumped to around 10 percent after the Lehman shock occurred. In the four years thereafter, the unemployment rate fell back only to slightly below 8 percent.
Compared with the loss of about 9 million jobs, new jobs created totaled only about 6 million despite an increase in the working population. However, as the number of employees has been steadily rising, the employment situation is improving as a trend.