Japan’s Job-to-Seeker Ratio Hits 43-Year High

Japan’s ratio of job openings to job seekers in April climbed to the highest level in 43 years and two months, while the nation’s unemployment rate stayed at the same level for three straight months, government data showed Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted job openings ratio rose 0.03 point from the previous month to 1.48, eclipsing a bubble economy peak of 1.46 marked in July 1990 to reach the highest since February 1974, according to the ministry of health, labor and welfare, Jiji Press reported.

The ratio rose for the second straight month. “The employment situation is steadily improving,” a labor ministry official said.

The i0nternal affairs and communications ministry separately said that the country’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 2.8% in April, staying at the same level since February.

The job openings ratio shows the number of job openings for each unemployed job seeker at the labor ministry’s Hello Work job placement centers nationwide. In April, job openings increased 0.7%, while job seekers decreased 1.6%.

The ratio of regular position openings to seekers went up 0.3 point to 0.97, hitting the highest since the ratio’s calculation began in November 2004. The number of new job offers jumped in such industries as construction, manufacturing and transport services.

The job openings ratio surpassed one for all of Japan’s 47 prefectures, both by place of employment and by region where job offers were accepted.

The ratio by region where job offers were accepted was the highest in Tokyo, at 2.07, and the lowest in Hokkaido, at 1.09.

The number of jobless people increased by 20,000 from the previous month to 1.86 million after seasonal adjustment. Before seasonal adjustment, the number of regular employees increased by 140,000 from a year earlier to 34 million, while that of non-regular employees rose by 330,000 to 20.04 million.

Japan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 2.8% in April, unchanged from the previous month, the internal affairs and communications ministry said Tuesday.

The number of jobless people increased by 20,000 from the previous month to 1.86 million after seasonal adjustment, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, another data from the same ministry showed that household spending decreased 1.4% from a year ago compared to the forecast of 0.9% drop.

According to the ministry of economy, trade and industry, retail sales increased 1.4% month-on-month in March, confounding expectations for a 0.2% fall. On a yearly basis, sales advanced 3.2%, faster than the expected 2.3%.