Japan · Public Social Spending: Unemployment (% of GDP)

## What this measures

Public social spending on unemployment insurance and assistance cash benefits, in Japan, as a percentage of gross domestic product, one value per year, dated December 31. Public means general government and social security funds; cash benefits and services in kind both count.

## Why it matters

Social spending is the largest part of most rich countries' budgets. How it splits between pensions, health, families and the jobless shows a country's priorities and where ageing will push its finances.

## How to read it

Percent of GDP, so it rises when spending grows faster than the economy and also when GDP falls (2009, 2020). Compare countries in the same year: the OECD publishes branch detail with a lag of two to three years, so the latest year differs from country to country.

## What it does not say

It leaves out private and mandatory private schemes (employer pensions, private health insurance) and tax breaks with a social purpose, which are large in the United States. Gross spending: taxes paid on benefits are not netted out.

## Source

OECD Social Expenditure Database (SOCX), dataflow DSD_SOCX_AGG@DF_SOCX_AGG, public expenditure, % of GDP: unemployment (TP71). Palanor adds up the OECD's programme types into this branch, the grouping the OECD uses in its own charts. OECD data may be reused for any purpose, including commercial, with credit: OECD (CC BY 4.0 terms). Palanor re-reads the full dataflow monthly, because the OECD revises back years.