–Fewer People Quit on Month to Seek Other Openings, More Start Looking for Work
–Employment Growth Up Sharply, Posting 3rd Y/Y Straight Gain
–Unemployed Marks 16th Straight Y/Y Drop; Still Above January 2020 Level
By Max Sato
(MaceNews) – Japanese payrolls posted third straight year-on-year growth in October while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.6% as the tourism industry rushed to hire back workers to meet both inbound and domestic demand, with improvement spreading to manufacturing and construction, data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed.
The government lifted most of its Covid border restrictions in October to allow more visitors from overseas, which is supporting hotels and retail stores particularly when the weak yen is raising the purchasing power of foreign tourists. The government also launched a new subsidy program last month to provide large discounts on domestic travel.
The seventh wave of the pandemic in Japan had eased by early September after the number of new Covid cases surged to record highs from late July to late August, and people appeared to be still traveling and dining out in October despite signs that an eighth wave was emerging.
The seasonally adjusted average unemployment rate stood at 2.6% in October, just above the median economist forecast of 2.5% (forecasts ranged from 2.5% to 2.6%). It was unchanged from September, when it rose from 2.5% in August to the level seen from May to July. The current level is a slight improvement from 2.8% at the start of 2022. August’s rate matched 2.5% in April, which was the lowest since 2.4% in February 2020. The jobless rate moved in a tight range of 2.7% to 3.0% in 2021.
The latest figure is below the recent high of 3.1% hit in October 2020 but still above 2.2% recorded in December 2019, just before the pandemic triggered a global slump.
The number of employed stood at a seasonally adjusted 67.36 million in October, down 70,000 (0.1%) from September, when it rose 130,000 (0.2%) on the month.
The number of unemployed fell by 50,000 (2.7%) to an adjusted 1.78 million after rising 80,000 (4.6%) the previous month.
The number of people who left for other openings fell 80,000 (11.0%) in October after rising 40,000 (5.8%) in September while the number of those who lost their jobs or retired decreased 20,000 (4.7%) after being unchanged in the previous two months. The number of people who began looking for work gained 20,000 (4.0%) after being flat previously.
Compared to a year earlier, the number of employed posted another sharp increase, up 500,000, to an unadjusted 67.55 million in October after rising 400,000 in September and 120,000 in August. It fell a slight 20,000 in July following gains of 210,000 in June, 170,000 in May and 240,000 in April, which was the first rise in seven months.
The number of unemployed dipped 60,000 on the year to an unadjusted 1.78 million in October, marking the 16th straight month of decline after a decrease of 70,000 the previous month. It has drifted down from a pandemic peak of 2.17 million in October 2020 but is still above 1.60 million at the beginning of 2020.
The government sees employment conditions as “picking up.”
As seen in the previous month, the employment increase in October from a year earlier was led by hotels, restaurants and bars, a category which posted the fourth straight year-over-year gain. People have been eating out and traveling more freely without strict public health rules since the summer.
Information and telecommunications service providers and the medical and welfare category also continued hiring more workers at a high pace.
The wholesale and retail industry continued shedding jobs but the pace of decline slowed in October while employment at construction firms posted a modest gain after months of decrease. Manufacturing jobs marked the second straight month of year-over-year gain.