Japan's April jobless rate falls to 2.6 per cent

The total number of unemployed people stood at a seasonally adjusted 1.80 million in April

Japan's unemployment rate in April fell 0.2 percentage point from the previous month to 2.6 per cent, the first improvement in three months, in a sign of a continued recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed yesterday.

The number of people with jobs stood at a seasonally adjusted 67.44 million, surpassing the pre-pandemic level of 67.36 million for the same month in 2019, as more people started working amid moves by companies to raise wages, a government official said.

The job availability ratio remained flat at 1.32 in April, indicating there were 132 job openings for every 100 job seekers, according to separate government data.

The number of job openings decreased 0.6 per cent from the previous month, while that of job seekers declined 0.7 per cent, the labour ministry said.

By sector, new job openings in accommodation and food services increased 8.2 per cent from a year earlier, while those in construction and manufacturing decreased 9.6 per cent and 9.3 per cent, respectively.

Megumi Wada, a researcher at the Daiwa Institute of Research, said many hotels and restaurants tried to bump up hiring ahead of the country's major holiday season from late April through early May, while the declines seen in some sectors likely reflected weakening demand overseas.

The total number of unemployed people stood at a seasonally adjusted 1.80 million in April, down 7.7 per cent from the previous month, data from the internal affairs ministry showed.

Among them, 730,000 people voluntarily left their jobs, down 11 per cent, while 440,000 people were dismissed, down 15.4 per cent from the previous month.

The unemployment rate stood at 2.7 per cent for men, down 0.3 point from the previous month, while the rate for women declined 0.1 point to 2.4 per cent.

"The unemployment rate is projected to continue declining moderately to the pre-pandemic level in the lower 2 per cent range, along with the normalisation of economic activities," Wada said.

Earlier in May, the Japanese government downgraded COVID-19 to the same category as seasonal flu and significantly relaxed its intensive medical rules, marking a major shift in its approach after three years of dealing with the disease.