Government data showed that Japan’s average unemployment rate in fiscal 2024 fell 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier to 2.5%, marking the first improvement in two years amid a labor shortage.
According to Kyodo News, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that in the fiscal year through March, the number of unemployed people decreased by 30,000 to 1.75 million, while the number of those with jobs grew by 370,000 to 67.93 million, the highest level since comparable data became available in 1953.
Among those not in work, the number of people dismissed by employers fell 20,000 from fiscal 2023 to 220,000.
The number of individuals who left their jobs voluntarily, typically seeking better opportunities, remained unchanged at 750,000.
A ministry official explained that job seekers were able to find new positions even after being laid off because the labour shortage persists.
In March alone, the unemployment rate rose to 2.5% from 2.4% in the previous month, the ministry said.
–WAM
