TOKYO -- The number of long-term jobless is declining in Japan, as companies ease employment conditions to respond to the country's labor shortage.
The number of people out of work for more than a year came to 480,000, according to the Labor Force Survey for the July-September quarter released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications recently. That represents a drop of 30,000 on the previous quarter and is the lowest figure since the ministry began issuing quarterly surveys in 2002.
