Japan’s unemployment rate in November edged up to 2.8% from the previous month as an economic recovery from the coronavirus fallout prompted more people to leave their jobs in search of better ones, the government said Tuesday.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose 0.1 percentage point from the previous month for the first increase in six months, after the COVID-19 state of emergency measure asking people to refrain from nonessential outings was lifted in October following a significant drop in the number of infections.
Separate government data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed the job availability ratio in November was unchanged from the previous month at 1.15, meaning that there were 115 job openings for every 100 job seekers.
The total number of unemployed people in November increased by 100,000 from the previous month to 1.92 million, rising for the first time in three months, said the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Among them, 760,000 people voluntarily left their jobs, up 60,000, while 480,000 were laid off, unchanged from the previous month, and 500,000 were new job seekers, up 10,000.
“The increase in the number of unemployed indicates that more people are seeking jobs with better conditions and is considered to be a reflection of the recent lower number of coronavirus cases and (an economic) pickup,” a government official told reporters.
The number of workers, unadjusted for seasonal factors, in the pandemic-hit accommodation and food service sector as well as the wholesale and retail sector, continued to fall from a year earlier, but the pace of decline slowed, indicating improvements in their labor markets, the official said.
The number of workers in hotel and restaurant services fell 190,000 from a year earlier in the reporting month following a 440,000 drop marked in October, while the number in wholesale and retail was down 120,000 year on year after shrinking 320,000 in October.
Meanwhile, the number of workers in the telecommunications industry, and in transport and postal activities, continued to increase, rising 9.3% and 5.5% from a year earlier, respectively.
The latest data showed the total number of people in work remained unchanged from the previous month at a seasonally adjusted 66.24 million.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
