–Number of Lost Jobs Down While More People Look for Other Openings
–April Unemployment at 2.5% Lowest Since 2.4% in April 2020
By Max Sato
(MaceNews) – Japanese payrolls rose from year-earlier levels for the first time in seven months in April as easing Covid restrictions prompted various service providers to hire more people, while the unemployment rate hit a two-year low as the number of people who lost their jobs or retired fell sharply from March, data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed.
The seasonally adjusted average unemployment rate improved for the third straight month, falling to 2.5% in April, the lowest since 2.4% in February 2020. It drifted down from 2.6% in March, 2.7% in February and 2.8% in January. It was lower than the median economist forecast for 2.6%. The jobless rate moved in a tight range of 2.7% to 3.0% last year.
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 number of employed stood at a seasonally adjusted 67.38 million in April, up 270,000 (0.4%) from March, when it rose 180,00 (0.3%) on the month. The number of unemployed fell by 30,000 (1.7%) to an adjusted 1.76 million after falling 90,000 (4.8%) the previous month.
The number of people who left for other openings rose 60,000 (9.0%) in April after falling 70,000 (9.5%) in March while the number of those who lost their jobs or retired also fell 120,000 (21.8%) after falling 50,000 (8.3%) the previous month. The number of people who began looking for work was unchanged from March, when it rose 10,000 (2.2%).
Compared to a year earlier, the number of employed rose 240,000 to an unadjusted 67.27 million in April, marking the first rise in seven months after falling 110,000 in March. The number of unemployed fell a sharp 230,000 on the year to an unadjusted 1.88 million in April, marking the 10th straight month of decline after a decrease of 90,000 the previous month.
Hotels, restaurants and bars hired more workers for the fourth straight month, and education support firms and the medical/welfare sector showed sharp payroll gains on the year.
By contrast, manufacturers trimmed their workforces after raising them for three months amid lingering supply constraints aggravated by Covid lockdowns in Chinese cities. Construction firms also saw a smaller number of employed amid surging producer prices and material shortages.
The wholesale and retail industry continued to shed workers from a year earlier at a high pace while the decline in the personal services and leisure category continued even after the government ended strict public healthy rules in late March.
Last week, Japan’s government maintained its economic overview for May after upgrading it for the first time in four months in April as consumer spending appears to have overcome an Omicron-hit slump but it also warned about continued uncertainty over global growth amid Chinese Covid lockdowns and the Ukraine war, according to its monthly report released by the Cabinet Office.
In the report, the government upgraded its assessment on employment conditions for the first time in five months, saying they are “showing signs of a pickup,” compared to its previous statement that they were “picking up in some components such as job offers, while weakness remains due to the influence of the infectious disease.”
Contact this reporter: max@macenews.com
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