Japan's Employment Market Cold Wave... Greater Impact Than During Lehman Shock

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a greater blow to Japan's labor market last year than the global financial crisis.

On the 29th, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that the average effective job openings-to-applicants ratio last year was 1.18. This represents a drop of 0.42 points compared to the previous year.

The effective job openings-to-applicants ratio indicates how many job openings companies have per one job seeker; a higher ratio means greater demand for labor.

The decline of 0.42 points in Japan's effective job openings-to-applicants ratio last year exceeded the 0.41-point drop recorded immediately after the global financial crisis in 2009.

It is also the third-largest decline following the years 1974 and 1975, which were affected by the oil shock.

Meanwhile, Japan's average unemployment rate rose by 0.4 points to 2.8%.

The number of completely unemployed people?those willing and able to work but unable to find jobs?increased by 290,000 to reach 1.91 million.

The number of people on leave from work rose by 800,000 to 2.56 million, marking a record high.

Kyodo News reported, "The labor market situation in Japan last year was completely different from 2019, when labor shortages continued due to the economic downturn caused by the spread of COVID-19."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.