Unemployment in Japan is the lowest in 21 years with the job to applicant ratio reaching a 25-year high, however the driving force behind the jobless rate is aging and a declining population and not Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies, reports Bloomberg.

An analysis from Hisashi Yamada from the Japanese Research Institute shows that, even though more than 1 million jobs have been created since Abe was elected Prime Minister in 2012, this can be attributed a shrinking workforce rather than increased demand.

“The net gains have been in non-regular jobs, including part-time and temporary positions. The number of regular jobs is still below what it was at the end of 2012, although the gap is shrinking. It remains to be seen if shrinkage will continue,” Yamada said. “When senior workers retire and leave well-paying full-time jobs, companies are replacing them with non-regular employees on less-generous contracts.”