Japan’s job availability hits a 44-year high

Data from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare showed that the country’s job availability improved to a new 44-year high in September, with 1.64 openings for every job seeker.

The government data also showed that the country’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.3%, with unemployment for men falling by 0.1% to 2.4%, and that for women remained stable at 2.3%.

Analysts said that the government figures highlight the fact that companies want to hire more, but the country is struggling to keep up with producing enough workers domestically amid a rapidly aging population.

Japan’s working-age population is projected to start shrinking in the mid-2020s, according to an economist at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.