Japan Jobless Rate Falls to 2.5 Pct in April

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage point from the previous month to 2.5 pct in April, the first improvement in two months, the internal affairs ministry said Friday. The improvement likely reflected progress in re-employment among people who had voluntarily left their jobs to change employers. The unemployment rate is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed people by the labor force. The number of unemployed people fell 3.8 pct to 1.79 million, and the number of people with jobs rose 0.9 pct to 68.76 million. Separately, labor ministry data showed Friday that the seasonally adjusted effective jobs-to-applicants ratio stood at 1.18 in April, unchanged from March, indicating 118 job openings for every 100 job seekers at public employment offices. The number of effective job seekers rose 0.8 pct from the previous month, and available job openings increased 0.4 pct. There has been a marked increase in job postings especially in the semiconductor sector, where companies are ramping up recruitment in anticipation of further growth in demand, a labor ministry official said. The tense situation in the Middle East “has not significantly affected Japan’s overall employment conditions,” a labor ministry official said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]