Japan's Jan. jobless rate rises as more women quit for better jobs

TOKYO (Kyodo) Japan's unemployment rate rose to 2.5 percent in January, reflecting an increase in the number of women quitting their jobs to look for better positions amid the tightest labor market in decades, government data showed Friday.

The jobless rate edged up 0.1 percentage point from December, the first rise in two months, though it stayed around the lowest level in 26 years, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The job availability ratio stood at 1.63, staying flat from December, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said. The ratio means there were 163 openings for every 100 job seekers.

"The unemployment rate for January rose but there is no change in the trend of steadily improving labor conditions," a ministry official told reporters. He also said that the jobless rate showed a rebound in the reporting month in response to a sharp drop in job-seekers seen the previous year due to heavy snow and a cold wave. A total of 750,000 people chose to leave jobs during the reporting month, up 10,000 from the year before. In contrast, 390,000 people were laid off, up 20,000.

Joblessness among men was steady at 2.5 percent while among women, it rose 0.3 percentage point to 2.5 percent. The seasonally-adjusted number of unemployed stood at 1.72 million, up 80,000 from the previous month.

Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190301/p2g/00m/0bu/036000c