Japan's October jobless rate falls to 2.7% after state of emergency lifted

Japan's jobless rate fell to 2.7 percent in October from the previous month as workers in the food service and accommodation sectors increased with the nationwide lifting of coronavirus states of emergency in the reporting month, government data showed Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate edged down from September's 2.8 percent, improving for the first time since July, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

The job-to-applicant ratio, however, declined to 1.15 from the previous month's 1.16, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The ratio means there were 115 job openings for every 100 job seekers.

Economic activity is gradually returning to normal following the Oct 1 lifting of the regional states of emergency, which asked people to refrain from nonessential outings and restaurants and bars to close earlier.

"The number of workers in the accommodation and food service field hit hard by the pandemic was still lower than that of the previous year," a government official said, noting that the Go To Travel and Go To Eat subsidy programs to support the tourism and restaurant industries were in place last year.

"But the number of those who were furloughed in the field declined this month (from the previous month), reflecting a positive effect of the removal of the declaration," he said.

The number of workers, unadjusted for seasonal factors, in accommodation and food service dropped 10.7 percent from a year earlier to 3.66 million, but the number temporarily absent from work in the same sector was 120,000, down from 360,000 in the previous month.

In other industries, the number of workers in the lifestyle and entertainment services sector dropped 10.6 percent, while the wholesale and retail workforce saw a 3.0 percent decline.

The number of workers continued to grow in the telecommunications industry and the medical and welfare field, up 9.9 percent and 1.8 percent from a year earlier to log the 20th and 15th consecutive monthly increases, respectively.

Private-sector economists predict the jobless rate will continue improving if new COVID-19 cases are kept low in the country. But they also noted the potential impact of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus on the Japanese and world economies. Takeshi Minami, chief economist at the Norinchukin Research Institute, gave a mixed assessment of Japan's labor market.

Minami said there were "bright signs" for an uptick in the labor market, but warned that the size of the non-working population increased in October from a year earlier.

The government has eased business-hour restrictions on eating and drinking establishments as well as spectator caps for large-scale events, such as concerts and baseball games. "Face-to-face service sectors are regaining some vitality but the (overall) recovery appears to be pausing," Minami said.

The latest data showed the total number of people in work fell a seasonally adjusted 240,000 from the previous month to 66.24 million, decreasing for the third straight month.

The number of unemployed declined from September for the second consecutive month, to 1.82 million. Among them, 700,000 people voluntarily left their jobs, up 10,000, while 480,000 were laid off, down 60,000, and 490,000 were new job seekers, up 10,000.