Labour market conditions improved in the 2000s until the onset of the global economic crisis in 2008, which led to the most severe recession in Japan’s post-war history. Employment, but especially working hours and wages fell in 2009, and unemployment peaked at 5.6% before falling back to around 5% in 2010. Unemployment is projected to further decline slowly, although it seems unlikely that the government could soon achieve its target of pushing it back to the 3% level.