TOKYO, Mar 4 (NNN-NHK) – Japan’s jobless rate rose marginally to 2.8 percent in Jan, the government said in a report today, owing to increasing cases of COVID-19 negatively impacting the labour market.
From the previous month, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, the unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage point, as a number of prefectures in the reporting period were placed under a COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency, to combat the spread of the highly-contagious Omicron variant of the virus, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, meanwhile, reported today, the job availability ratio in the reporting period rose from a revised 1.17 in Dec, to 1.20. This equates to there being 120 job openings for every 100 people seeking employment.
According to the statistics bureau, in Jan the total number of people out of work rose by 40,000, which was a 2.1 percent increase from a month earlier, to 1.9 million unemployed people.
Of the total, those leaving their jobs of their own volition totaled 710,000 people, rising by 10,000, while those laid off totalled 590,000 people, jumping by 60,000 from a month earlier.
The number of new job seekers, the ministry said, stood at 490,000 people, the same as for Dec.
“The impact of the coronavirus was especially seen in the lodging and eatery services sector, where 220,000 workers were absent in Jan, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the 590,000 people who were newly furloughed in the month,” a ministry official was quoted as saying.
“Downward risks to the economy have increased and we must consider a scenario in which employment will be affected,” the ministry official added, with reference to the ongoing pandemic.
