In contrast, in the current  2  economic phase, the variance between well-performing and other regions has become small, as the ratio is also rising in regions where it was low. In 2016, the active job openings-to-applicants ratio surpassed 1.0 in all 47 prefectures for the first time.
The rise in the ratio in local regions is presumed to be due in part to a decline in the number of job applicants caused by population migration, so it seems not quite right to simply interpret the rise as a result of improvements in the economic situation.