TOKYO, Jul 1 (ABC): Japan’s jobless rate rose to 2.6 percent in May, with the figure rising for the first time in four months, the government said in a report on Friday. From the previous month, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, the unemployment rate increased from 2.5 percent to 2.6 percent in the recording period, as more people left jobs to search for better ones amid the easing effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, meanwhile, reported Friday the job availability ratio was up 0.01 point from the previous month, showing an improvement for the fifth straight month, to stand at 1.24. This equates to there being 124 job openings for every 100 people seeking employment.
According to the statistics bureau’s seasonally adjusted data, in May the total number of people out of work totaled 1.80 million, up 40,000 from the previous month. Of the total, those leaving their jobs of their own volition totaled 790,000, up 8.2 percent from the previous month, while the number of new job seekers remained flat from the previous month at 460,000. Those with jobs totaled 67.24 million, down 140,000 from April on a seasonally adjusted basis, the statistics bureau said.