Tokyo, Oct. 2 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stood at 2.5 pct in August, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Friday. The jobless rate, which is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed people by the labor force, increased for the first time in five months as more people voluntarily left their jobs to seek better pay and working conditions. The number of unemployed people increased by about 100,000 to 1.77 million. Of them, the number of people who quit voluntarily rose by 60,000, while those who lost their jobs due to business or company circumstances increased by 20,000. The number of people holding jobs rose by 30,000 to 68.34 million. Meanwhile, the seasonally-adjusted effective ratio of job openings to seekers in August was unchanged from the previous month at 1.18, a report from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed on the same day. Both job openings and job seekers edged up 0.7 pct. New job openings decreased 1.5 pct, reflecting weaker recruitment by food service and accommodation businesses due to rising raw material prices, while semiconductor-related manufacturers expanded hiring amid the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence technology. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
