Japan's jobless rate in 2025 stays at 2.5% as tight job market continue
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's average unemployment rate in 2025 stood unchanged from the previous year at 2.5 percent, reflecting a tight labor market as the number of people with jobs increased, while more joined the workforce amid inflation.
The number of unemployed people averaged 1.76 million, the same level as in 2024, while the number of employed people rose by 470,000 to 68.28 million, hitting a record high for the second straight year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
Despite the increase in the number of employed people, the jobless rate remained unchanged as the labor force expanded for the third consecutive year, growing 470,000 to 70.04 million, the highest figure since comparable data became available in 1953, as more women and elderly people joined the workforce.
The labor force includes people aged 15 or older who are employed, as well as those who are unemployed but willing and able to work.
Shinichiro Kobayashi, principal economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, said there are both positive and negative factors underlying the growth trend in the labor force.
While more people are motivated to work due to rising wages and better conditions such as flexible working hours, "Many people are facing the need to secure higher incomes as surging prices are making their lives harder," Kobayashi said.
Among those not in work, the number of people dismissed by their employers stood at 220,000, while those who left jobs voluntarily, typically in search of better opportunities, totaled 750,000. The number of people newly seeking jobs came to 480,000, all unchanged from 2024.
In December alone, the unemployment rate was unchanged from November at 2.6 percent, according to the ministry.
Separate data showed that the average job availability ratio in 2025 fell 0.03 point from a year earlier to 1.22, deteriorating for the second consecutive year, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.
The figure means there were 122 jobs available for every 100 job seekers.
"More businesses are restraining hiring on the back of soaring material costs driven by inflation and labor-saving measures due to minimum wage increases," a labor ministry official said.
In December, the job availability ratio edged up 0.01 point from November to 1.19, according to the labor ministry.
By industry, new job openings rose 4.0 percent from a year earlier in the education sector and 1.6 percent in manufacturing.
In contrast, new job openings fell 10.5 percent in information and communications, and 7.0 percent in the hotel and restaurant sector.
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