Japan’s job availability rate for fiscal 2023 fell 0.02 points to 1.29 from a year earlier, marking its first decline in three years, government data showed Tuesday, as Companies have reduced their hiring practices under pressure from rising material costs.
For the month of March, the job availability rate increased by 0.02 points from February to 1.28, meaning there were 128 jobs available for every 100 job seekers, the figures show of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection.
The monthly increase was attributed to fewer people looking for new jobs as they anticipate salary increases in their current positions. Major companies awarded their highest pay rises in 33 years in this year’s final “shunto” spring wage negotiations.
The electricity, gas and water sector offered more jobs, with new openings up 8.1 percent compared to March last year, and the finance and insurance increased by 6.5 percent.
Sectors with fewer newly available jobs include the manufacturing sector, down 10.8 percent, while the lifestyle and entertainment services sector and the education sector both fell by 10. 5 percent.
Separate data showed the country’s unemployment rate for fiscal 2023 was unchanged from the previous year at 2.6%. An official at the Ministry of Interior and Communications said fewer people were leaving their jobs involuntarily, while at the same time more were leaving their jobs for better opportunities due to a shortage of available workers.
An average of 1.78 million people were unemployed in the year ended March, including 1.03 million men, down 30,000 from the previous financial year, while women were unemployed. recorded an average of 750,000, up 30,000, the official said.
The number of employed women jumped by 270,000 to 30.59 million, the highest total since comparable data became available in 1953, according to the ministry.
“There are many reasons why people decide to go to work, and this mindset is likely due to factors such as economic hardship and also rising wages,” the official said.
The unemployment rate for March remained unchanged from the previous month at 2.6 percent, with a seasonally adjusted number of unemployed workers at 1.82 million.
Among those who left their jobs, 790,000 people left their jobs voluntarily, an increase of 2.6 percent from February, and 460,000 people left their jobs involuntarily, an increase of 4.5 percent from February. hundred.
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