雇用対策、失業率２．６ポイント抑制　助成金の財源ピンチ―労働経済白書

　厚生労働省は１６日、２０２１年版「労働経済の分析」（労働経済白書）を公表した。雇用調整助成金（雇調金）など、新型コロナウイルス感染拡大を受けた雇用対策の効果を分析し、２０年４～１０月に完全失業率の上昇を２．６ポイント程度抑えて月平均２．９％にとどめたと推計。雇用の下支え効果を強調した一方、支給増加で助成金の財源が枯渇している現状を説明し、「負担の在り方が今後の課題」と指摘した。
　雇調金は、景気悪化時などに雇用維持を図るために従業員を休ませ、休業手当を支払う企業への助成金。支給上限額は、コロナ対策で１人日額１万５０００円に引き上げられている。申請手続きの簡素化で利用が進み、ピーク時には月５７００億円の支給が決まった。（2021/07/16-10:15）

Employment adjustment subsidies and other job measures taken by the Japanese government to tackle the coronavirus fallout curbed a rise in the nation's jobless rate by about 2.6 percentage points on average in April-October 2020, the labor ministry said Friday.
   Thanks to the measures, the average jobless rate was relatively low, at 2.9 pct, in the seven months, the ministry said in the 2021 white paper on labor economy, released the same day.
   The report stressed the effect of the job measures, while noting that the government is running out of funds for the subsidies due to growth in payments and is therefore needs to address the issue of how to bear the burden.
   Employment adjustment subsidies are provided to businesses that put workers on paid leave. To tackle the coronavirus crisis, the daily limit on the subsidies has been raised to 15,000 yen per worker. In the peak month, the government decided to give out 570 billion yen.
   Last year, the employment situation worsened, especially among the accommodation and restaurant industries, as the coronavirus crisis hampered economic activities. The jobless rate, which had been under 2.5 pct before the outbreak of the epidemic, rose to as high as 3.1 pct in October last year although the level was lower than 5.5 pct in July 2009, after the September 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers.