Tokyo, 28 June, /AJMEDIA/
Japan’s unemployment rate remained at 2.6 percent in May for the fourth consecutive month in the wake of the country’s labor shortage, government data showed Friday.
The number of regular employees stood at 36.75 million in the reporting month, of which 13.14 million were women, a record high since comparable data became available in 2013, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
A ministry official said the rise in female regular employees was significant in the manufacturing and education sectors.
“The rise in female employment reflects the tightening labor market,” said Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at the Meiji Yasuda Research Institute.
“Amid a persistent labor shortage, there has been a significant shift from non-regular to regular employment among women, particularly the younger generations and those rearing children,” he said.
The total number of people with jobs in May rose 0.1 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted 67.61 million, while those who were unemployed fell 0.5 percent to 1.82 million, according to the ministry.
Among them, 750,000 people left their jobs voluntarily, down 3.8 percent, while 440,000 people were let go by their employers, unchanged from the previous month.
“The increasing number of employed people indicates that many are finding jobs that meet their expectations,” the official said.
In separate data, the job availability ratio fell 0.02 point from April to 1.24, indicating there were 124 jobs available for every 100 job seekers, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
“I don’t see (the decline) as a sign of an economic slowdown. Some firms are starting to give up on recruitment after making job offers for a long time and being unable to hire enough people, and that has led to the decline in the ratio,” said Kodama.
“The labor market is expected to remain tight in the future,” Kodama added.
By industry, the information and communications sector offered 5.7 percent more jobs than a year earlier, while the retail and wholesale sector saw a rise in job openings of 4.6 percent.
Sectors with fewer newly available jobs included manufacturing, down 7.4 percent, while openings in the lifestyle and entertainment services sector shrank 10.6 percent.
© KYODO
