Japan’s October unemployment rate rises to three-year high of 3.1%
- Claire Lee
- Topics: Home Page - News, Japan, Job Cuts, News
Japan’s unemployment rate rose to 3.1% in October, its highest level in over three years, government data showed.
However, the country’s job availability ratio improved from that of April 2019’s, as hiring picked up over the month despite economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, said the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
The ratio increased to 1.04 from 1.03 in September, which meant that there were 104 job openings for every 100 jobseekers.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the jobless rate for men rose to 3.4%, up 0.2 point from September. The unemployment rate for women remained unchanged at 2.7%, said the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
To keep workers employed, the government has extended its jobs subsidy programme by two months, until the end of Feb 2021, as the country battles a weaker employment outlook due to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
READ: Japan to extend jobs subsidy until February 2021
Corporate profits in Japan also weathered a double digit year-on-year drop for the third straight quarter in the July-September period, according to separate government data.
The Finance Ministry’s survey showed pre-tax profits of domestic firms falling 28.4% from a year earlier to ¥12.40 trillion (US$119 billion), registering a decline for the sixth consecutive quarter.
