Japan’s unemployment rate rose to 2.7 percent in July, up from 2.5 percent in the previous month, marking the first deterioration in five months as more workers left their jobs in search of better working conditions, government data recently revealed.
The total number of employed individuals fell 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted 67.66 million in July, while those unemployed rose 6.3 percent to 1.87 million, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications stated. The number of people who quit their jobs in July increased by 70,000, or 9.5 percent, while those who were laid off fell by 10,000, or 2.2 percent.
The job availability ratio inched up 0.01 point from June to 1.24 in July, rising for the first time in four months, indicating there were 124 jobs available for every 100 job seekers, according to separate data released by the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry.
Sector-wise, academic research saw 7.4 percent more job offers than a year earlier, while the telecommunication sector saw a rise in job openings of 6.6 percent.
Sectors with fewer newly available jobs included education, down 5.1 percent. Meanwhile, openings in the manufacturing sector declined by 2.9 percent.
Read: OECD forecasts Malaysia’s GDP growth at 4.9 percent for 2024, 4.7 percent for 2025
Japan’s unemployment rate to decline in 2025
The rise in Japan’s unemployment rate comes after a year of stability in both unemployment and employment rates. In May 2024, the unemployment rate remained stable at 2.6 percent, and will likely decline to 2.4 percent in 2025, stated the OECD in a recent note. The level of employment has been stable as more older people are working, offsetting the decline in the working-age population.
While the employment rate for men has remained stable at around 84 percent, the female employment rate has continued to increase over the last two decades, reaching 73.7 percent in May 2024.
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