With the tragic triple disaster over the past few months, Japan's economy has inevitably paid the toll. As reported in Bloomberg’s Business Week Japan’s economy contracted more than economists estimated in the first quarter, exemplifying the damage caused by the disaster. The Cabinet Office in Tokyo said GDP shrank at an annualized 3.5% rate in the first three months of the year, this in comparison to the 3% median forecasted by a number of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
 
But maybe the end is in sight, last month;parliament approved a 4 trillion yen spending package to aid reconstruction work that may push forward an economic rebound. Another indication of future capital spending is an increase in machinery orders and corporations pledging to boost industrial production. Maruyama, an economist at Itochu Corp said to Business Week, “The supply chain disruptions have been easing at a faster pace than we expected, and it looks like companies will be investing in repairs relatively quickly”. An increase in production and therefore exports would bode well for Japan’s economy and should improve former figures. Analysts are predicting that the economy will gain momentum next year, in line with an increase in output and the beginning of government reconstruction projects.

What this means for jobs
The huge investment into reconstruction would suggest that jobs in construction management may be in high demand as well as positions in supply chain management which will also begin to rise as companies push to increase production. There may also be a need for executives with previous experience in logistics to oversee exporting activities as businesses increase production.

Opportunities for the savvy entrepreneurial executive could be found due to the vast reconstruction efforts and a huge push in production, to promote fresh ideas for increasing efficiency to help speed up production and exporting.

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This article was written by Bella Barda, Emerging Markets Assistant from the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC).

BlueSteps is the exclusive service of the AESC that puts senior executives on the radar screen of over 6,000 executive search professionals in over 70 countries. Be visible, and be considered for up to 50,000 opportunities handled by AESC search firms every year. Find out more at www.BlueSteps.com.