Job availability highest in 44 years in Dec.

January 30, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's seasonally adjusted job opening-to-seeker ratio came to 1.59 in December, up 0.03 point from the preceding month, hitting the highest level since the 1.64 marked in January 1974, labor ministry data showed Tuesday.

The ratio rose for the third straight month. Job openings increased at a number of industries, mainly at automakers and other manufacturers, on the back of the global economic expansion.

For the whole of 2017, the average job opening ratio went up 0.14 point from the previous year to 1.50, the second highest on record after the 1.76 for 1973, according to the ministry.

The internal affairs ministry said the same day that the country's jobless rate in December came to 2.8 percent after seasonal adjustment, up 0.1 percentage point from November, posting the first rise in seven months.

The number of jobless people was up by 10,000 at 1.86 million. That of people who voluntarily quit their jobs rose by 40,000, reflecting an increase in those who started to seek jobs with better work conditions.

The job opening ratio represents the number of jobs available to each seeker registered with Hello Work public job placement centers.

In December, the number of job openings increased 1.8 percent month on month after seasonal adjustment, while that of job seekers fell 0.2 percent, according to the labor ministry data.

The job opening-to-seeker ratio for regular jobs inched up 0.02 point to 1.07.

By prefecture, the ratio of job vacancies posted to seekers was the highest in Tokyo, at 2.15, up 0.03 point, and the lowest in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, at 1.15, up 0.01 point. "The employment situation is steadily improving," a labor ministry official said.

By industry, the number of new job openings increased 16.6 pct year on year before seasonal adjustment in the manufacturing sector, partly on the back of robust production of goods for exports, the labor ministry said.

New job openings grew also at industries facing labor shortages, posting a rise of 12.2 percent at hotel and restaurant operators, 11.9 percent at transport and mail service companies, and 11.2 percent at the medical and welfare sector.

The seasonally adjusted average jobless rate for 2017 was down 0.3 point year on year at 2.8 percent, falling for the seventh consecutive year, the internal affairs ministry said. Jiji Press