Jan. jobless rate lowest since April 1993
March 2, 2018
Tokyo- Japan's seasonally adjusted jobless rate stood at 2.4 pct in January, the lowest level since the 2.3 percent in April 1993, a government report showed Friday.
The January figure compared with 2.7 percent in December 2017, according to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry report. The jobless rate dropped for the first time in two months.
The number of workers increased in a number of industries. "The employment situation is steadily improving," a ministry official said.
The number of jobless people decreased by 230,000 month on month to 1.6 million, the ministry said.
"Corporate demand for employees is strong amid labor shortages," the official said.
The hotel and restaurant industries, and other sectors saw sharp growth in the number of workers. Meanwhile, the number of people who quit their jobs for voluntary and involuntary reasons both recorded drops.
Separately, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said that the ratio of job openings to job seekers in January stood at 1.59 after seasonal adjustment, unchanged from the previous month.
The ratio for regular jobs also leveled off, at 1.07.
Total job openings decreased 0.6 percent after some companies moved up recruitment to December. The number of job seekers also fell, by 1.2 percent.
The job openings-to-seekers ratio represents the number of jobs available to each job seeker registered at Hello Work public job placement offices across the country.
By prefecture, the ratio of job vacancies posted to seekers was the highest in Tokyo, at 2.08, and the lowest in Okinawa, southern Japan, at 1.17.
Before seasonal adjustment, new job openings in January increased 8 percent from a year before in the manufacturing sector, 4.9 percent in the education and learning support sector, and 3.9 percent in the transport and mail service industry.
By contrast, the academic research and specialized technology service sector saw a 6.5 percent decrease, and the household-related service and entertainment sector suffered a 0.6 percent fall. Jiji Press
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