— Job Cuts Y/Y Deeper in Wholesale, Retail, Education
— Hospitality Jobs Up on January 2021, When Covid State of Emergency Imposed
By Max Sato
(MaceNews) – Job creation in Japan remained weak in January compared to a year earlier and the unemployment rate edged up from December as more people either lost their jobs or quit for personal reasons as the government resumed Covid restrictions in many regions, data released Friday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed.
The seasonally adjusted average unemployment rate has been moving in a narrow range in recent months, rising to 2.8% in January after slipping to 2.7 in December from 2.8% in November. It was slightly higher than the median economist forecast for 2.7%.
The latest figure was below the recent high of 3.1% hit in October 2020 but still well above 2.2% recorded in December 2019, just before the pandemic triggered a global slump.
The ministry made revisions to past figures as it adopted the latest population data based on the results of the 2020 census.
The number of employed fell 190,000 (0.3%) on the month to 66.93 million in January after rising 270,000 in December while the number of unemployed gained 40,000 (2.1%) to 1.91 million after falling 50,000 the previous month.
The number of people who left for other openings rose 10,000 (1.4%) in January after falling 60,000 in December while the number of those who lost their jobs or retired climbed 60,000 (11.3%) after rising 30,000.
Compared to a year earlier, the number of employed dipped 320,000 to 66.46 million in January, marking the fourth straight decline after dipping 20,000 in December and plunging 540,000 in November.
The wholesale and retail industry as well as education service providers saw deeper job cuts in January from a year earlier while transport and postal services reduced payrolls after recent gains.
Hotels, restaurants and bars as well as the manufacturing sector showed slight increases from January 2021, when the government imposed a state of emergency for some prefectures at the height of Covid infections. The restrictions for many of the 47 prefectures issued this year are less strict compared to those seen a year earlier.
The number of unemployed fell 140,000 on year to 1.85 million in January, marking the seventh straight month of decline after a decrease of 220,000 the previous month.
The pace of decrease in the number of people who lost their jobs continued decelerating while the number of those who quit for personal reasons marked the second straight fall. Fewer people began looking for work, compared to a year before.
The government’s view is that employment conditions are “picking up in some components such as job offers, while weakness remains due to the influence of the infectious disease,” according to its monthly economic report for February.
Contact this reporter: max@macenews.com
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