Japan’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6 per cent in April, the Government said on Friday.
The number of jobless fell in March for the 47th consecutive month, declining by 370,000 from a year earlier to 2.54 million people, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
Manufacturers added 380,000 jobs to reach 10.8 million on payrolls, and medical and welfare services saw an increase of 360,000 employees to 7.52 million, while agriculture and forest industries’ payrolls shrank by 180,000 employees to 2.18 million, the ministry said.
Despite the relatively lower jobless rate, unstable forms of employment, especially among women and young people, remained one of Japan’s most pressing issues, analysts said.
The number of regular employees fell by 400,000 from a year earlier to 32.88 million, while that of temporary and part-time workers jumped by 570,000 to 19.09 million, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said on Friday that the availability of jobs — measured as the ratio of job offers per job seeker — inched up to 1.08 in April from the previous month, the highest since July 2006.