The unemployment rate in Japan fell to the lowest level in nearly a quarter-century in January as the ratio of open jobs to applicants remained at the highest level since the early 1970s, highlighting an enduring shortage of workers at Japanese companies.

日本1月份失业率降至近25年最低水平，而岗位空缺与求职人数比率(ratio of open jobs to applicants)维持在自1970年代初以来的最高水平，突显出日本企业面临持续性的用工短缺。

Japan’s jobless rate dipped to 2.4 per cent in the first month of the year, down from 2.8 per cent in January and pushing well below a median forecast of 2.7 per cent from economists polled by Reuters.

今年1月份日本失业率下降至2.4%，低于去年12月的2.8%，且远低于此前路透社(Reuters)调查经济学家给出的2.7%的预测中值。

That took unemployment in Japan to the lowest level since April 1993. Yet the country’s jobs-to-applicants ratio remained unchanged from December at 1.59 per cent.

该数据让日本的失业率降至1993年4月以来的最低水平。然而，日本的岗位空缺与求职人数比率仍保持去年12月份的1.59不变。

That persistent gap underscores the lack of staff that has plagued Japanese companies, which are struggling to overcome the worst labour shortages in 40 years thanks to the country’s declining population and the strength of its economy after five years of stimulus.

这一持续差距突出显示用工荒正困扰着日本企业，企业正在努力克服40年来最严重的劳动力短缺，原因在于日本人口持续减少，而其经济经过五年的刺激后在走强。

The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sought to address the shortage and is planning a review of visa rules by the summer as it seeks more skilled foreign workers. But on Monday Mr Abe was forced to drop business-friendly labour reforms because his evidence for the reform was riddled with errors, including a data point form one worker who performed 45 hours of overtime in a single day.

安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)政府已寻求解决劳工短缺问题，并计划在今年夏季审议签证规则，寻求更多熟练的外国工人。但本周一安倍被迫放弃了有利于商业的劳工改革，因为他的改革理据充满了错误，包括出现了一名工人一天加班45小时的数据错误。