Japan April Jobless Rate Unchanged at 2.5 Pct

May 29, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 2.5 pct in April, unchanged from the previous month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Tuesday.

The number of jobless people decreased by 10,000, or 0.6 pct, from the previous month to 1.72 million after seasonal adjustment, the ministry said.

The number of unemployed people who quit their jobs for voluntary reasons dropped, as an increasing number of workers seeking jobs with better conditions landed employment.

Separately, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said the ratio of job openings to seekers in April stood at 1.59, unchanged from the previous month.

The ratio stayed at the high level, as an increase in job vacancies mainly in the manufacturing sector offset a rise in the number of job seekers, including elderly people looking for nonregular employment.

"The employment situation is steadily improving," a labor ministry official said.

The ratio shows the number of jobs available to each applicant registered at the Hello Work public job placement offices across the country.

The total number of job openings grew 0.7 pct, and that of job seekers 0.6 pct. The ratio of regular job openings to seekers advanced 0.01 point to 1.09.

By prefecture where job vacancies were registered, the job openings-to-seekers ratio was highest in Tokyo, at 2.09, and lowest in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido and the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, at 1.17.

Before seasonal adjustment, new job openings rose 9.3 pct from a year before in the manufacturing industry, 6.6 pct in the education service sector and 5.9 pct in the medical and welfare sector.

On the other hand, the hotel and restaurant industry saw a 2.1 pct decline an Jiji Press