Japan's national unemployment rate decreased to 2.4% in September from 2.5% in August, signaling a modest tightening of the nation's labor markets, as reported by Statistics Japan on Tuesday. The total number of employed individuals in Japan fell by 0.1% since August, resulting in a seasonally adjusted figure of 67.82 million in September.
Simultaneously, the number of people without jobs decreased by 2.3%, bringing the total to 1.68 million. Japan's ability to manifest both a decline in total employment and a decrease in the unemployment rate stems from a shrinking labor force linked to the country's aging population. "The labor market has continued to tighten and the trend seems to be accelerating, particularly among women," stated Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at the Meiji Yasuda Research Institute, during an interview with the Kyodo News Service. Historically, Japan has maintained low unemployment rates compared to global standards.
Before the pandemic, Japan's unemployment rate typically hovered in the low 2% range, spiking to 3.1% in October 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. Since then, the unemployment rate has seen irregular declines, staying within the mid-2% range for most of 2024. In a different context, there were 124 job openings available for every 100 job seekers in September, a slight rise from 123 openings per 100 job hunters in August, according to data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare released on Tuesday.
This represents a decline from the previous year, which had 129 job openings for every 100 applicants. By sector, the information and communication industry witnessed 8.9% more job offers compared to the previous year. Conversely, new job openings in lifestyle and entertainment services plummeted by 13.3% year-on-year in September, with decreases also noted in manufacturing at 9.1% and in the construction industry at 7.4%..