Hello, everyone.

This is Enta.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism recently announced this year’s 2023 labor cost rates!

AlreadyIt's no exaggeration to call it a massive surge.

Regarding Labor Unit Rates for Public Works Design Effective March Reiwa 5

It's skyrocketing!

However, the labor shortage in our industry is accelerating at an unprecedented rate.

With the mass retirement of 2025 fast approaching, our senior colleagues are retiring one after another.

Recruiting young people has become quite important, but under the current circumstances, that’s proving difficult.

 

It’s a situation where companies are filling those gaps with foreign workers, such as technical interns, isn’t it?

I have a feeling things are going to pick up quite a bit from here on out.

 

Here is a summary of the unit prices for slope stabilization work only. Please take a look.

It might be hard to read on a smartphone...

The increase in the margin and the percentage increase compared to 2022 and 2023 are listed on the left.

	2022	2023	円	％			2022	2023	円	％
Prefecture Name	Slope Stabilization Work	Slope Stabilization Work	Increase	Percentage		Prefecture Name	Slope Stabilization Work	Slope Stabilization Work	Increase	Percentage
01 Hokkaido	28,300	28,600	300	1.05		18 Fukui Prefecture	24,200	26,200	2,000	7.64
02 Aomori Prefecture	28,800	29,200	400	1.37		25 Shiga Prefecture	25,200	27,500	2,300	8.37
03 Iwate Prefecture	30,300	30,700	400	1.31		26 Kyoto Prefecture	24,500	26,600	2,100	7.90
04 Miyagi Prefecture	31,100	31,600	500	1.59		27 Osaka Prefecture	25,300	27,600	2,300	8.34
05 Akita Prefecture	28,900	29,400	500	1.71		28 Hyogo Prefecture	24,000	26,200	2,200	8.40
06 Yamagata Prefecture	27,500	27,900	400	1.44		29 Nara Prefecture	25,200	27,500	2,300	8.37
07 Fukushima Prefecture	30,200	30,600	400	1.31		30 Wakayama Prefecture	24,400	26,500	2,100	7.93
08 Ibaraki Prefecture	25,100	27,000	1,900	7.04		31 Tottori Prefecture	22,700	23,600	900	3.82
09 Tochigi Prefecture	26,700	28,800	2,100	7.30		32 Shimane Prefecture	21,800	22,600	800	3.54
10 Gunma Prefecture	27,900	30,000	2,100	7.00		33 Okayama Prefecture	23,300	24,200	900	3.72
11 Saitama Prefecture	26,700	28,800	2,100	7.30		34 Hiroshima Prefecture	23,500	24,600	1,100	4.48
12 Chiba Prefecture	26,600	28,600	2,000	7.00		35 Yamaguchi Prefecture	22,800	23,700	900	3.80
13 Tokyo Metropolis	28,100	30,300	2,200	7.27		36 Tokushima Prefecture	27,700	28,400	700	2.47
14 Kanagawa Prefecture	26,600	28,600	2,000	7.00		37 Kagawa Prefecture	25,900	26,600	700	2.64
19 Yamanashi Prefecture	27,400	29,600	2,200	7.44		38 Ehime Prefecture	25,500	26,200	700	2.68
20 Nagano Prefecture	26,500	28,500	2,000	7.02		39 Kochi Prefecture	26,500	27,200	700	2.58
15 Niigata Prefecture	28,300	29,100	800	2.75		40 Fukuoka Prefecture	25,900	26,100	200	0.77
16 Toyama Prefecture	30,100	31,000	900	2.91		41 Saga Prefecture	25,400	25,600	200	0.79
17 Ishikawa Prefecture	30,200	31,000	800	2.59		42 Nagasaki Prefecture	25,200	25,400	200	0.79
21 Gifu Prefecture	28,100	30,000	1,900	6.34		43 Kumamoto Prefecture	26,400	26,700	300	1.13
22 Shizuoka Prefecture	27,700	29,600	1,900	6.42		44 Oita Prefecture	24,400	24,600	200	0.82
23 Aichi Prefecture	29,100	31,100	2,000	6.44		45 Miyazaki Prefecture	24,700	24,800	100	0.41
24 Mie Prefecture	28,600	30,600	2,000	6.54		46 Kagoshima Prefecture	28,600	28,800	200	0.70
						47 Okinawa Prefecture	24,300	24,200	-100	-0.42

How about your prefecture?

For some reason, only Okinawa is in the red...

I wonder why...

 

Since this applies to properties put up for bid starting in March 2023,

For construction projects that aren't carryovers, labor rates have skyrocketed!

Let's make sure to raise our construction unit prices going forward.

It can certainly be used as a bargaining chip.I think so!

 

Also, please be sure to check page 15 of this MLIT circular.

The unit cost per person for hiring is listed here.

For example, in Aichi Prefecture, “43,700 yen” is listed below the labor cost rate of 31,100 yen.

The difference of 12,600 yen is a necessary business expense for the company.

This means that the expenses amount to just under 30 percent of the labor cost per unit.

 

With that in mind, let's make sure to carefully review the labor cost rates.

And as that unit price is reflected in our pricing, our employees' salaries should gradually increase as well!

It won't be possible to raise this salary right away, but it might be reflected in bonuses or similar benefits at an early stage.

Given the ongoing labor shortage, wages in the construction industry are expected to continue rising.

However, it’s possible that some shady characters might try to take advantage of the situation.

In my experience, they start saying things like, “The company can’t run without me,” or “The company will go under without me,” and

Some people will likely come forward to negotiate a pay raise.

If you're the type to say that, you'd better make up your mind soon, lol (We don't need people like that in the first place, and they just end up being a burden on the other employees.)

 

On the other hand, those who quietly and diligently go about their work will get a raise!

Just having someone like that is a treasure for the company!

 

I have a feeling that the second half of this year could turn out to be a good one, as long as we can maintain a steady flow of orders, but,

Economic analysts aren't saying much that sounds encouraging, are they...

 

I hope we can spark a wave of economic prosperity in the construction industry!

 

See you later.