— Japan Oct Jobless Rate 4.2%; Sep 4.2%; MNI Forecast 4.2%
— Japan Oct Employment +130,000 Y/Y Vs Sep -130,000
— Japan Oct Employment Posts 1st Y/Y Rise in 11 Months
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s average unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2% in
October, with the number of employed up on the month, while the number of
payrolls marked the first year-on-year rise in 11 months, data from the Ministry
of Internal Affairs and Communications showed Friday.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October came in line with the
median forecast for 4.2% in a survey of economists by MNI.
The recent unemployment rate remains the lowest since September 2011, when
it was also at 4.2%.
In October, the number of payroll jobs rose by 310,000 (+0.5%) from the
previous month to a seasonally adjusted 63.00 million, marking the second
consecutive month-on-month increase after +60,000 in September.
The adjusted number of unemployed was flat from September at 2.73 million
in October.
Looking at the longer-term trend, the unadjusted number of employed people
rose sharply by 130,000 on year to 63.21 million in October, posting the first
year-on-year rise in 11 months after falling 130,000 in September.
The medical and welfare as well as construction industries continued to
hire workers while employment by manufacturers as well as information and
communications was down.
Meanwhile, the unadjusted number of jobless workers fell only 180,000 on
year to 2.71 million in October, after falling 20,000 in September. It was a
29th consecutive drop.
The data also showed that the number of those who lost their jobs continued
to fall from year-earlier levels in October while the number of people who quit
their jobs voluntarily to look for other openings continued to rise.
–MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-2175-0040; email: hinoue@mni-news.com
–MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-4670-5309; email: msato@mni-news.com
[TOPICS: MAJDS$,M$A$$$,M$J$$$]
