A. Supply-Demand Conditions in the Labor Market and the Income Situation Let me first talk about supply-demand conditions in the labor market and the income situation. As the economy has continued its moderate expansion, the output gap has widened within positive territory; the figure for the April-June quarter of 2018 -- the most recent data available -- was about 2 percent.
Furthermore, supply-demand conditions in the labor market have continued to tighten steadily. The year-on-year rate of increase in the Labour Force Survey-based number of employees has been at around 2 percent, and against this backdrop, the active job openings-to-applicants ratio has been at a level that exceeds the peak marked during the bubble period.