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Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

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Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#101

Post by SilasX »

fenomas wrote: post #37
sho wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my boss assumed that it would be sourcing the bride Are you sure you understood him correctly? That would be highly irregular, to say the least. More likely it was an offer to pay for a matching agency. Arranged marriages between specific people are pretty rare these days, and unheard of outside of family. Unless your boss literally adopted you, he would never take on that responsibility!

I think people are reading rather too much into the phrase "sourcing". Read it as "assumed he'd probably wind up marrying a coworker" and the boss in question is just observing the obvious - workplace marriages are quite common in Japan, especially considering that company employees around that age tend to socialize a lot within the company. One can think of such things as non-pecuniary benefits of a job but I think…

>I think people are reading rather too much into the phrase "sourcing". Read it as "assumed he'd probably wind up marrying a coworker" and the boss in question is just observing the obvious - workplace marriages are quite common in Japan, especially considering that company employees around that age tend to socialize a lot within the company.

Right, but I also envisioned that they'd be in the awkward position of "hm, but Japanese women won't want a gaijin, obviously ..." and then debating whether they need to call up the "mail order bride" services.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#102

Post by rpazyaquian »

nihonde wrote: post #55
adventured wrote: post #39

Japan's primary problem on income is that the economic ground they've lost in the last 20 years is vast. In the late 1980s, their GDP per capita was beyond that of the US. Now it needs to climb 50% to catch up. The last 20 years has taken them back to #16 among major economies in terms of GDP per capita. That gives you an idea of how difficult it's going to be for Japan to bring their incomes back in line with high p…

Lots of childless old-timers are sitting on hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in liquid assets that presumably will revert to the state. Household savings in the 60+ demographic are exemplary. Of course, that's part of the reason the economy is stagnant.

Sounds like where the US is headed.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#103

Post by rpazyaquian »

SirLJ wrote: post #75

Just remember in the end of the 80s and the begging of the 90s, Japan was on the verge to become the world most powerful economy and market crash after that... 25+ years later the market is still almost in half - so many retirement money lost and a great example why buy and hold for a long time is actually not a good retirement strategy...

What does that mean for things like Vanguard's retirement fund strategy? Isn't that based entirely on long-term improvement in the market?

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#104

Post by literallycancer »

wolfgke wrote: post #58
0xbear wrote: post #54

Yeah, I do get contacted by Japanese recruiters, and their comp in my field is pretty laughable by US standards. That said, the same applies to all of Europe as well. People literally seem to be making one third of what they'd be making in the US if they were any good.

The metric that you have to consider is salary - taxes - costs of living [including health insurance] + expected future revenues [in particular pensions] Can you provide me evidence that, say, Germany, is so much worse than the USA with respect to this metric?

Germany has severe wage compression going on for more than a decade. Companies are making more money every year, but instead of sharing that by increasing wages or sharing equity, they invest the profits (mostly abroad).

The only reason it hasn't blown up yet is that the value of € is kept low by southern European countries that are struggling to stay afloat. Since the living costs remain relatively low, employees don't have to ask for more.

Source: recruiters trying to convince me that €60k is what senior software engineers make in Germany. If you are wondering, that leaves you with €2900/month after taxes and insurance. The wonders of progressive income tax.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#105

Post by TheCoelacanth »

srtjstjsj wrote: post #24
sho wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh I'm not doubting you. But that's slightly different. Putting in a good word for you and making introductions to eligible young co-workers isn't quite the same as "here's your bride!", which is what it sounded like. I can absolutely imagine a 50s-ish japanese boss saying exactly the contents of your quote.

"sourcing" in this context means "identifying and referring candidates" not making an official commitment.

Exactly. If you hire a recruiter to source employees for you, they aren't going to come back and say "Here's your employee. Hope things work out for you." they are going to say "Here's someone who seems like a good fit. Do you want to interview them?".

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#106

Post by dmoy »

literallycancer wrote: post #104
wolfgke wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The metric that you have to consider is salary - taxes - costs of living [including health insurance] + expected future revenues [in particular pensions] Can you provide me evidence that, say, Germany, is so much worse than the USA with respect to this metric?

Germany has severe wage compression going on for more than a decade. Companies are making more money every year, but instead of sharing that by increasing wages or sharing equity, they invest the profits (mostly abroad). The only reason it hasn't blown up yet is that the value of € is kept low by southern European countries that are struggling to stay afloat. Since the living costs remain relatively low, employees do…

60k Euro for a senior? Is that total liquid comp? That's like one fifth of what a senior makes at goofacesoftwhatever. I had no idea German salaries were so low, wow.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#107

Post by yequalsx »

maxxxxx wrote: post #74
yequalsx wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America did try to punish the Germans. Millions starved as a result of deliberate Allied policy. It wasn't until the schism with the USSR that policies shifted. Eisenhower in particular wanted Germany to be an agrarian society.

As a German. I have never heard about these starved millions. The agrarian society plan was the Morgenthau plan which didn't get implemented from what I know. My parents are WW2 generation. I have never heard any complaints from them or relatives about the American behavior after WW2.

Being German does not preclude you from being ignorant of post war German history. Google it. You can find lots of information on the Allied occupation of Germany. It wasn't until the Berlin airlift that feeding Germans became fashionable. My dad was in WW2 on the American side. He ended as a guard in a POW camp after the war. He'd have denied the starvation too but it did occur.

Eisenhower did want, initially, for Germany to be an agrarian society. He wasn't the only one with this view. Morganthau was not the only person with this idea.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#108

Post by SirLJ »

rpazyaquian wrote: post #103
SirLJ wrote: post #75

Just remember in the end of the 80s and the begging of the 90s, Japan was on the verge to become the world most powerful economy and market crash after that... 25+ years later the market is still almost in half - so many retirement money lost and a great example why buy and hold for a long time is actually not a good retirement strategy...

What does that mean for things like Vanguard's retirement fund strategy? Isn't that based entirely on long-term improvement in the market?

It means that all those robo fintech companies and the Vanguards of the world are making a lot of money, but "buy and hope" is not a good retirement strategy for the little guy, especially if you are close to retirement and you have some money set aside and count on them to live off...

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#109

Post by Bartweiss »

Pyxl101 wrote: post #61
wolfgke wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The metric that you have to consider is salary - taxes - costs of living [including health insurance] + expected future revenues [in particular pensions] Can you provide me evidence that, say, Germany, is so much worse than the USA with respect to this metric?

It's also important to factor in the ability to move later. If I earn a small amount of money in a place with low cost of living, then I can't move to a high cost of living location later. If I earn a large amount in the US in a high cost of living area, then I can still live frugally and move to a low cost of living area later. Cost of living is fungible. If I buy a property in an expensive city, then I have to inve…

> If I earn a small amount of money in a place with low cost of living, then I can't move to a high cost of living location later.

Having done this out of school, I found myself literally borrowing money for first/last/security. Not much money, and not for long, but that's of course because I had a signed contract before I settled on an apartment. Cheap living is pleasant, but it can leave you in a serious cash crunch should you try to move - especially as a young person.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#110

Post by blawson »

dmoy wrote: post #106
literallycancer wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany has severe wage compression going on for more than a decade. Companies are making more money every year, but instead of sharing that by increasing wages or sharing equity, they invest the profits (mostly abroad). The only reason it hasn't blown up yet is that the value of € is kept low by southern European countries that are struggling to stay afloat. Since the living costs remain relatively low, employees do…

60k Euro for a senior? Is that total liquid comp? That's like one fifth of what a senior makes at goofacesoftwhatever. I had no idea German salaries were so low, wow.

It's similar in Amsterdam. I remember being pretty well paid (granted this was 5 years ago) as a software engineer and my salary was around €60k. I will say that, for me, quality of life on that salary felt much better than you'd expect in absolute terms. But then rent and housing costs have gone up quite a bit in the last few years I understand.
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