Oct. job openings ratio highest since January 1974

December 1, 2017

Tokyo- -Japan's seasonally adjusted ratio of effective job openings to seekers in October rose 0.03 point from the previous month to 1.55, the highest level since January 1974, the labor ministry said Friday.

The figure grew for the first time in four months, as job openings increased in a wide range of industries, mainly in the manufacturing sector, reflecting the country's moderate economic recovery.

Separately, the internal affairs ministry said the country's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 2.8 pct in October, unchanged since June.

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

The job openings-to-seekers ratio shows the number of jobs available to each job seeker registered at Hello Work public job placement offices nationwide.

The ratio had stood at 1.52 for three consecutive months through September.

In October, the number of effective job openings rose 1.0 pct, while that of job seekers decreased 0.5 pct.

New job vacancies increased in the automobile and housing-related sectors in the manufacutirng industry. Sizable growth was seen in the medical and welfare service sectors.

The ratio for regular jobs rose 0.01 point from the previous month to 1.03.

By prefecture where job openings were registered, the ratio was highest in Tokyo, at 2.1, while the lowest reading, at 1.14, was logged in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, and Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan.

The number of jobless people in the country decreased by 10,000 to 1.87 million after seasonal adjustment, the internal affairs ministry also said.

The number of people who voluntarily quit jobs to search for better ones fell by 70,000, while that of those who left involuntarily increased by 10,000.

Before seasonal adjustment, the total number of regular employees grew 680,000 from a year earlier to 34.85 million, and that of nonregular workers rose 50,000 to 20.41 million. Jiji Press