Japan logs highest unemployment rate in 5 months in May

TOKYO, June 29– Japan’s jobless rate increased to 3.0 percent in May, the highest level in five months due to the extended state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic, government statistics revealed Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted jobless index increased from 2.8 percent in April, rising for the second consecutive month, according to the data from the…

TOKYO, June 29 (Xinhua) — Japan’s jobless rate increased to 3.0 percent in May, the highest level in five months due to the extended state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic, government statistics revealed Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted jobless index increased from 2.8 percent in April, rising for the second consecutive month, according to the data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The figure had stayed in the upper half of the 2-percent range since marking 3.0 percent in December.

The latest statistics showed that the number of people in employment stood at 66.45 million, down 130,000 compared to the previous month and falling for the third straight month.

The number of unemployed increased 100,000 from April to reach 2.04 million. Among them, 810,000 people voluntarily left their jobs, up 70,000, while 630,000 were laid off, up 30,000, and 480,000 were new job seekers, down 10,000.

Separate statistics from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare indicated that the job availability ratio in May stood at 1.09, remaining unchanged compared to a month earlier. It means that there were 109 job openings for every 100 job seekers. Enditem