By Max Sato
(MaceNews) – The Japanese labor market showed a mixed picture in October as the unemployment rate improved slightly to a seven-month low while job growth continued slowing at the same time, data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed.
The seasonally adjusted average unemployment rate in Japan fell to 2.7% in October from 2.8% in September, coming in lower than the consensus forecast of 2.8%. It was the lowest level since 2.6% in March and followed a recent slide to 2.8% in July from 2.9% in June and 3.0% in May.
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 government regards employment conditions as “improving with some soft spots.”
The number of employed fell 0.4% on month to 66.24 million in October after slipping 0.4% in September, posting the third straight monthly decline, while the number of unemployed fell at a much faster pace of 3.7% to 1.82 million after falling 1.0% the previous month. The number of people who left for other openings gained 1.4% on month and the number of those who lost their jobs dipped 11.1%.
Compared to a year earlier, the number of employed fell 350,000 to 66.59 million in October after falling by 100,000 in September, which was the first year-over-year drop in six months. The number of unemployed fell 320,000 on year to 1.83 million, marking the fourth straight month of decline after a decrease of 180,000 in September.
Contact this reporter: max@macenews.com
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