Japan Aug. Jobless Rate: Updated Oct. 5, 2025

Japan's Aug. jobless rate rises to 2.6%, highest in 13 months

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251003/p2g/00m/0bu/013000c

Ideas

Japan's unemployment rate is one of the lowest among advanced economies but at the present 

time Japan has a major labor shortage which makes it much easier for workers to leave their 

present jobs and look for either better working conditions or better pay.

At the same time, for a very long time, until just recently, it was very difficult for workers to

leave their jobs due to the fact that it took a long time to find a new job.

The unemployment in Japan needs to be taken with a grain of salt as its quite possible that its still taking a 

long time to find a job in Japan even though people have quit their present or past jobs which makes the 

unemployment look worse than it really is.

And then is the possibility that some workers in Japan just couldn't stand their jobs and felt it was better to

go on unemployment than continue in a job they didn't like.

Budgetary constraints being felt my large Japanese companies might be a major in Japan as maybe large companies have had to spend a lot on wage increases for their existing workers and now they don't have any more funds left to hire new workers.

And if its a challenge for large companies its probably even worse for small and mid-size companies that don't have the same resources as large companies to hire any new workers and offer good wage increases at the same time.

Just because there are 120 job opening for 100 job seekers doesn't mean the 120 jobs are good jobs that workers are looking for.

For example some or many of the 120 jobs might be related to jobs from small and mid-size companies that tend to have lower wage offerings than the large name-brand companies in Japan, so there not actually be 120 new jobs offering from large Japanese companies that offer the highest wages.

There is always going to a discrepancy between jobs that have declined and jobs that grew as sometimes reporting of jobs might be late or not reported as all.

There is/was, in any economy, where the number of those with jobs is always going to be larger than reported as again reporting of jobs being added and jobs being lost and those quitting is always in a flux due to reporting errors.

For a very long time, layoffs in Japan were almost unheard of as companies used to never layoff workers but as Japan has become more westernized and are now focused on shareholders and no longer focused on the good of employees they are beginning to use layoffs as a way to maximize shareholder value over the good of employees.

The lifestyle and entertainment sectors are service type jobs and service type jobs usually have lower profits margins and if they gave wage increase the past two fiscal years they probably don't have any more room to hire any new workers and might actually be losing workers to other companies that offer higher wages.

And that same with the wholesale and retail companies, which again are service type companies and can't afford to really hire any new workers as they to either hired enough already and or their material, energy, and labor costs are too much for the profits margins at the present time.

And yes, Japan recently increased the minimum wage which again, meant many of the service type companies which usually have thinner profit margins and rely on minimum wage type workers a lot maybe can't afford any more workers and are assessing the minimum wage increase to see if they need to layoff workers and or can actually higher more workers.

Its very unfortunate that some workers in Japan have to rely on the minimum wage only for a living. It's one thing if its a university student working at a fast-food place but it's a completely different situation if it's a single mother with a child who has to rely on the minimum wage to live on.

Have a nice day!

Japan Jobless Rate: Updated Aug. 1, 2025.

Japan's July jobless rate falls to 5-year low at 2.3%

Article source:    https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250829/p2g/00m/0bu/016000c

Ideas 

As some Japanese companies begin to increase wages more would-be workers are going back to work, re-entering the workforce, and many even changing jobs

For a long time many workers in Japan didn't change jobs as they just stayed with the same job as changing jobs was either shunned or not easy to do in Japan for a very long time.

But times have changed in Japan and the workforce in Japan is no longer worried about what people think and if they have a chance or need to they try to change jobs like another other place now.

Japan has always had one of the lowest unemployment rates among advanced economies as there were always plenty of jobs for those who needed to work or wanted to work.

But ever since 2008, and the global financial crisis, more jobs related to contract work, part-time work, and less than full-time salary type jobs have been offered with less and less of the type of jobs needed to grow the Japanese economy.

The Japanese economy has become an economy of have's and have nots with good full-time jobs at major Japanese companies at about 30 percent of the workforce and then the have nots about 70 percent of the work force being employed by small and midsize companies along with those with contract work or part-time work.

If 680,000 people left their current job to find a new job it might be an indication finding a new job in Japan is now not as hard as it used to be.

But then again, the opposite might be true as finding a job is a full-time endeavor as job seekers need a lot of time to find and new job and having a job might prevent them for actually seeking a new job.

At the same time 1.64 million without jobs seems like a lot of people without jobs as some might not want to work, some might be looking for work but can't find the right job for them and or there might be other reasons they are not working such as illness or other factors.

For a long time it was almost unheard of that that workers in Japan were dismissed but the article doesn't indicate what the workers were dismissed for such companies re-structuring, companies having to reduce their workforce and or the normal business actions related to workers being dismissed.

For those new people seeking jobs it could be university graduates who still don't have a job, it could be young married women who need to work to help their family with paying the bills and or any number of new workers trying to enter the workforce in Japan.

The fact that there were 122 jobs available for every 100 job seekers needs to be taken with a grain of salt, meaning not all of the 122 jobs are good Japanese name-brand large company jobs as some jobs might be jobs that pay less and unfortunately small and mid-size company jobs don't pay the same as large company jobs.

Even though there were 9.8 percent more jobs in the education sector, just what kind of jobs were being offered. Were they jobs at after-school academies that offer lessons for those in middle school and high school. Were the jobs in academies related to teaching English or other subjects?

The information and technology sector should see a lot of growth in the future with more companies trying to innovate and upgrade as needed for 21st century tech skills.

Its very possible that the hotel and restaurant industry have been hit by increased labor costs, increased raw material costs not to mention energy cost increases, and they might even had to lay-off some workers due to higher costs.

But again, the article doesn't say where the job openings decreased in Japan as foreign tourists entering Japan is at a record high which might mean hotels, at least in the major metro areas of Japan, might actually increased their workers.

As far as the wholesale and retail sector is concerned, these are service type jobs which means they usually have very thin profit margins to work with and they can't afford large increases in energy costs, wage increases, or even raw-materials costs.

Some of these companies in the hotel and restaurant sector and in the wholesale and retail sector might actually be cutting back their normal staff and not hiring new workers and moving to more automated services to save on costs.

Have a nice day!

Japan Job Availability Decreases: Updated August 4, 2025.

Japan job availability falls in June for 2nd straight month

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250801/p2g/00m/0bu/016000c

Ideas

A decrease of 0.02 is really not that much of a change but it might be trending down which might be of some concern.

Recently and for some times companies have been reluctant to hire due to increased costs and labor challenges in Japan.

These days, companies can't run deficits like they could back in the day and now they are responsible to stockholders and others who control much of what happens in a company.

The idea of 122 jobs to every 100 job seekers might sound good but what kind of jobs are being offered. Are they full salary jobs with good benefits or are they limited contract jobs with minimal benefits.

Unfortunately due to increased labor costs, automation including AI is beginning to make its way among many companies these days.

Its a shame that companies don't think of the human element and what companies are made up of, as now they treat workers and just numbers to be replaced.

As the new tariff deal has been finished companies now will have a better picture of what is going on and now can plan with more certainty.

The hotel and restaurant sector suffered the most job losses during the pandemic but maybe now they are at full personnel capacity and just can't afford to hire any more workers as new workers are expecting higher wages than before and their profits margins are maxed out.

And maybe there are similar concerns with the manufacturing sector as raw material costs have significantly increased along with companies now having to increase wages to keep current workers higher new workers.

The global economy, including the Japanese economy, is now dominated by the information and communication sector as everything related to work and many different areas in life is dominated by this sector now.

Manufacturing might still be important for Japan but even manufacturing is becoming more dominated by the ICT sector.

All sectors now have some signs of being dominated by the ICT sector and its going to spread even more.

Japan has always had a low unemployment rate but ever since 2008 there are many more jobs which are limited contract jobs and not full-paying jobs with good benefits, due to companies now having to answer to stockholders who want good profits over lackluster numbers like in the past.

Of those 800,000 people who left their jobs voluntarily some or many might have left their current job as finding a new job is now much easier in Japan than many years ago.

Many years ago you wouldn't here much are companies laying off their workers as it just wasn't part of the Japanese work culture. 

But as Japanese companies have now adapted many wester company factors layoffs are now very common in Japan these days.

Many years ago many Japanese companies were people or worker centric and saw the workers as an important stakeholders in the company. But those days seem long gone as stockholders are now the stakeholders in Japanese companies like western companies these days.

Its quite possible that Japanese companies have become very cautious about hiring due to the tariff situation as they have mostly slowed down hiring and or or new job searches are getting longer and then there is the idea that maybe many of the best jobs have already been filled as its now taking longer to find that perfect job some one is looking for.

Maybe some or many people have just given up finding a good job and with the Japanese economy not in very good shape now they are just waiting for the economy to improve.

Have a nice day!

Japan Unemployment Rate: Updated June 6, 2025.

Japan's unemployment rate, job availability ratio unchanged in April

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250530/p2g/00m/0bu/022000c

Ideas

Many sectors in Japan might be facing worker shortages, but an economies' unemployment rate will never reach 0 percent as there are always going to be workers in or out of the workforce for a number of reasons.

The worker shortage situation in Japan was a long time coming and should have been seen or known long before it happened. But as always. like many economies, there are priorities and then there are situations that are just left hoping they will resolve themselves.

There might have  been 126 jobs for every 100 job seekers but are they the kind of jobs workers are looking for these days. And there is always the possibility there is a miss-match between jobs available and the skills of job candidates.

And then is the possibility of job candidate expectations and the kinds of jobs available as many young workers are not interested in the type of jobs their parents had as they are looking for something but different and some maybe for better work-life situations in a job.

Its possible that the number of people employed decreased as some people might have quit their present jobs in order to look for a new job as a chance to get a better job is very high now in Japan.

And then there is the chance that some companies decided to lay-off some workers and the Japanese economy is not that good and they had no choice and there are no many companies just barely making it.

You would think, in a economy that is facing a worker shortage that those unemployed would not increase but again there is the chance some people quit their existing job to look for a better job, as again there chance of getting a new job is much better now in Japan.

An economy is always in a state of change as all economies are never in a complete state of stagnation as there are always changes taking place in any economy, such as people quitting jobs, people being laid-off, people being hired or re-hired and so on, not to mention those who decide to leave their jobs and retire.

First we need to know just what is meant by jobless in Japan and does it mean no job for a long time, no job just now, no job because they quit their job etc.

There might be a tight labor market in Japan but again what kind of jobs are available and what are the wages of those jobs being offered.

It might be possible that many of some of the jobs being offered are at small and mid-size companies that can't afford to increase wages and they might not be able to attract the kind of workers they really need.

Most likely the 460,000 who left their jobs involuntarily, the company might have had financial challenges and or if they were in a services company the company might have lost customers and their sales were significantly decreasing.

Of the 740,000 who left their jobs voluntarily they might have decided they could easily find a a new job, and or the wages they were getting was not that good and they wanted something different.

The information and communication sector, for while after the pandemic actually lost jobs and or laid-off a lot of workers, but now maybe they are trying to make-up for the lost jobs, right after the pandemic.

And with the services sector they might have had to lay-off a lot of workers during the pandemic and now they are trying to make up for the lay-offs they had to do during the pandemic.

Again, if there really is a tight job market, then the chance of those 500,000 finding new jobs quickly or easily should not  be a problem. 

Again, there is always the chance that many job seekers are looking for jobs that really don't exist and or there expectations might be too high as the jobs they want or even need don't exist at this time.

And then there is the chance that company expectations for new job seekers are not aligned with the current group of people looking for a job, as they are looking for either the ideal candidate or the perfect candidate that just doesn't exist.

The lifestyle and entertainment services sector might be suffering a loss in revenue due to the continued inflation in Japan and consumers are not going to those places these days.

With the hotel and restaurant sector, they might be losing workers or not able to hire new workers as maybe there profit margins are too thin and they just can't hire any new workers and or they are losing workers to other companies that pay better wages.

 Have a nice day!

Japan Jobless Rate: Updated Dec. 7, 2024.

 

Japan's jobless rate rises to 2.5% in Oct. as seniors seek new posts

Article Source:   https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20241129/p2g/00m/0bu/004000c

Ideas:
Most likely those without jobs at 1.8 percent might be related to some workers quitting their existing jobs and looking for other jobs as they might think its much easier to get a new job as Japan is facing as so-called labor shortage.

Those who reach retirement age in Japan, these days, most likely need or want to keep working if the company allows it which seems to be getting much more common in Japan now.

And or they leave their current jobs and maybe can easily find new work, full-time or part-time, as again, Japan has the larges labor shortage among all advanced countries.

Unfortunately Japan still has a mandatory retirement age of 65 or 70 depending on the company and sector. While in the US, there is no retirement age for most jobs and sectors, expect for a few.

So its not uncommon to see workers in their 70's and even 80's in the US, if they can do the job,and they remain healthy.

Those in Japan might have been contract workers on half year or full year contracts and of course they need to to look for new jobs if they were in a half year contract. 

It must be remembered that most likely those 125 jobs for every 100 job seekers might not be the large company jobs that everyone wants to have, as some might be small or midsize jobs that don't pay as much or as good as large company jobs.

And some, unfortunately, might be contract type jobs which don't pay full benefits or good salaries too.

So even though are a lot of jobs available that doesn't mean they are the large company jobs that, again, most workers would like to have.

Even though there were 8.9 percent more jobs offers in the academic and the technical service job areas, the trend in academia is moving toward more part-time or adjunct type work as universities, globally, are not hiring full time academics as they were 20 or even 30 years ago.

In the hotel and restaurant services area, most likely they have enough workers now as they might have filled any openings they had due to laying off many workers during the pandemic.

And or the possibility might be they can't afford to hire any more workers and their profits margins are just too slim and they already increased wages and hired a lot of workers and now, at the present time, don't need any new workers.

Have a nice day!

Japan's Jobless Rate: Updated Feb. 11, 2024.

 

Japan's jobless rate falls to 2.5% in October

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231201/p2g/00m/0bu/018000c

Ideas:
Japan's unemployment rate has always been one of the lowest among advanced economies. An increase from 2.5 to 2.6 is not much of a change or variation. 

Perhaps more people might have given up looking for work, which is not unusual even in Japan as people lose hope trying to find a good job. 

And at the same time, maybe more people found work that suited them and the number changed.

For might be 130 jobs for every 100 job seekers, but what kind of jobs are being offered. Unfortunately, even in Japan, the trend is more contract work and more part-time work and not as many regular full time jobs.

The services sector was hit hard by the pandemic and maybe just now beginning to get back to some kind of normal or new normal.

Manufacturing and construction, while good paying jobs, might not be the type of jobs many young workers are looking for these days, as they look for jobs that meet their work/life expectations.

And at the same time, as material costs increase, maybe they can't hire any more workers at this time.

Japan is definitely facing a major labor shortage at this time, But Japan is not using is human resources to its fullest, as working women are not given the same salaries as men, and women with children might be looked down on and maybe are not considered management candidates.

Also Japan is beginning to see the need and importance of foreign workers but also they are still reluctant to fully open their economy for foreign workers.

The services sector lost a lot of jobs during the pandemic, and many workers to lost their jobs have moved on and haven't returned to the same service sector jobs.

But many service sector jobs, such as hotels, might not be the preference of young Japanese workers as maybe the hours are long and the pay is not as good as other jobs.

Among the 770.00 people who voluntarily left their jobs, did they leave their jobs for personal reasons, or maybe they just didn't like the work they were doing.

An economy's workforce is never static but dynamic meaning its always changing, as people leave, people are dismissed, people retire and so on.

Again, the trend in Japan and many advanced economies, is many companies are hiring more contract workers and part-time workers as opposed to full time workers, of course to save money and save spending less on benefits

And at the same time, many young workers today, in every advanced economy, are looking for better work/life situations and not the hours, especially in Japan, that their parents had to work, which was/is six days a week and longer hours each day. 

Some companies are waking up to this fact, and to get the best talent possible are now beginning to offer better work/life situations with better working hours, better benefits and ever better chances for promotion to management.

The unemployment numbers as stated really don't mean much as 2.5 or 2.6 is not that big a difference. For women, as they enter the workforce, the numbers can change as now they are counted in the workforce as before, they were not counted in the workforce,

The inflation situation, is forcing more women to seek employment as now a one income family just can't make it.

Again the services sector was it hard by the pandemic and probably lost more jobs than other sectors, and now they are trying to makeup for the lost workers.

At the same time, as more foreign tourists enter Japan the accommodation sector is looking for more workers. 

But the problem, again, is maybe many young Japanese workers don't want to work at hotels and the hours might be long, and the pay might be less than what large Japanese companies pay.

When I would stay at Toyoko Inn in Yokohama, I would often see Chinese workers at the hotels, as there are many Chinese tourists and maybe the hotel can't find Japanese workers to work there.

Also, when I would to to a convenience store in Japan, I would see mostly foreign students working there and not young Japanese working there. Also, the few times I would go to MacDonald's in the morning, the workers there were older Japanese and not young Japanese as they maybe don't like the work and or the hours.

Have a nice day and be safe!