TOKYO – Japan’s unemployment rate increased to 3.1% in October, the highest level in more than three years, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to adversely affect businesses, government data showed today.
According to the Xinhua news agency, quoting the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, the total number of jobless folk in the country increased by 80,000 to 2.14 million.
The unemployment rate for men increased to 3.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis, up 0.2 point from September, while that for women remained unchanged at 2.7%.
Meanwhile, the job availability ratio rose to 1.04 from 1.03 in September, meaning there were 104 vacancies for every 100 job seekers.
This marks the first improvement since April last year, as hiring began to pick up despite worries about the economic outlook amid the ongoing pandemic.
The Japanese government has launched a programme to help struggling companies keep workers employed through the payment of subsidies.
According to some economists, it has shielded the labour market from a more severe hit.
The programme is expected to be extended to February as part of an extra budget for the fiscal year through next March. – Bernama, December 1, 2020
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