Japan's unemployment rate ticks up to 2.6 pct in FY 2025

Alsharq Tribune-M.Essam 

Japan's average unemployment rate for fiscal 2025 climbed to 2.6 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, government data showed Tuesday.

In the fiscal year ended March, the number of unemployed people rose by 50,000 to 1.8 million, while the number of employed people grew by 360,000 to 68.29 million, the highest since comparable data became available in 1953, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

Among the unemployed, 420,000 had been dismissed, up 10,000 from the previous fiscal year, while 760,000 had quit voluntarily, usually to seek better positions. Those newly looking for jobs rose by 30,000 to 500,000, according to the ministry.

In March alone, the unemployment rate ticked up to 2.7 percent from 2.6 percent in the previous month, while the number of employed people slipped 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted 68.15 million, the ministry said.

By industry, new job openings fell across seven sectors in March, with the steepest decline in information and communications, which plunged 15.8 percent from a year earlier, according to separate data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

The wholesale and retail sector saw 6.5 percent fewer job offers, while accommodation and restaurant services posted a 6.4 percent drop.