What is worth noting is that the labor market has continued to tighten despite the flattening of exports and production.
In fact, as seen in the diffusion index for employment conditions released in the September Tankan, a perception of labor shortage has heightened further among firms, and the labor market can be regarded as being in a situation of “full employment.” As corporate profits have increased to their highest level historically and tightening in labor market conditions has continued, there has been upward pressure on wages.