Nov. jobless rate hits 24-year low of 2.7%

December 26, 2017

Tokyo- Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in November hit a 24-year low of 2.7 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Tuesday.

The jobless rate improved for the first time in five months, sinking to the same level as November 1993, according to the ministry.

"The number of workers is increasing in a wide range of sectors. The employment situation is steadily improving," a ministry official said.

Separately, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said the country's effective ratio of job openings to seekers in November rose 0.01 point to 1.56, the highest level since January 1974, when the figure came to 1.64.

The November ratio grew for the second straight month.

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

The number of job openings grew 0.6 percent, while that of job seekers fell 0.3 percent. The ratio of regular job openings to seekers advanced 0.02 point to 1.05.

New job openings increased mainly in the medical and welfare sector facing a severe lack of care workers, the transportation and mail delivery sectors due chiefly to a continued shortage of drivers, and the manufacturing sector.

By prefecture where job vacancies were registered, the job openings-to-seekers ratio was highest in Tokyo, at 2.12, and lowest in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, at 1.14.

The internal affairs ministry said the number of jobless people decreased by 20,000, or 1.1 percent, to 1.85 million, down for the second consecutive month.

Amid an improvement in the labor situation, the number of people who voluntarily quit jobs mainly to find better ones decreased by 40,000, or 5.1 percent.

Before seasonal adjustment, the total number of regular workers increased by 880,000 from a year before to 34.56 million and that of non-regular workers by 200,000 to 20.61 million. Jiji Press