Japan’s Unemployment Rate Rises to 2.5 Percent in August

Dragon Media News Desk

Japan’s unemployment rate rose to 2.5 percent in August from 2.4 percent in July, marking its first increase in five months, government data showed.

The number of employed people increased by 30,000 from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted 68.34 million, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Among those without jobs, 810,000 had left their positions voluntarily, typically in search of better working conditions. That figure was up 8 percent from July. Another 400,000 had been dismissed by their employers, an increase of 5.3 percent. The number of people newly seeking work rose 2.2 percent to 460,000, the ministry said.

Separate data from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare showed that the job availability ratio stood at 1.18 in August, unchanged from the previous month. This means there were 118 job openings for every 100 job seekers.

Compared with a year earlier, job openings declined in eight of the 11 sectors. The largest falls were in accommodation and food services, down 11.1 percent, and wholesale and retail trade, down 10.2 percent.

Among the three sectors that recorded increases, job openings rose 3.9 percent in manufacturing and 3.3 percent in information and communications.