TOKYO Jiji Press - The average ratio of effective job openings to applicants in Japan rose for the first time in four years in 2022, showing a recovery in economic activities after a slump caused by the novel coronaviruses, government data showed Tuesday.
The labor ministry said the ratio, which represents the number of jobs available to each applicant at Hello Work job placement offices across the country, increased by 0.15 point from 2021 to 1.28 on average. The figure for 2022 was less than 1.60 for 2019, before the coronavirus crisis.
The internal affairs ministry said that Japan's jobless rate fell by 0.2 percentage point to 2.6% in 2022, down for the first time in four years.
According to labor ministry data, the number of effective job openings went up 12.7% to 2,474, 041. Companies, mostly those in the hotel and restaurant industries, moved to secure workers in line with the easing of COVID 19-linked movement restrictions.
The job seekers' unemployment dropped by 0.7% to 1,935, 780, which is a reflection of a drop in dismissals due to the economic recovery.
The number of jobless people fell by 160,000, according to internal affairs ministry data. An official of the ministry said that this was due to the reopening of economic activities.
In December alone, the seasonally adjusted effective job openings-to-seekers ratio stood at 1.35, unchanged from the previous month. The unemployment rate was 2.5% after the seasonal adjustment, which was the same as in November.