TOKYO, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Japan's average unemployment rate in fiscal 2024 came to 2.5 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, marking the first improvement in two years, government data showed Friday.
In the fiscal year through March 2025, the number of employed individuals increased 370,000 to 67.93 million, the highest level since comparable data became available in 1953, while that of unemployed fell 30,000 to 1.75 million, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed.
A ministry official said that job seekers were able to find new positions even after being laid off as the labor shortage persists.
In March alone, the unemployment rate rose to 2.5 percent from 2.4 percent in the previous month, according to the ministry.
Separate data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed Japan's average job availability ratio in fiscal 2024 dropped 0.04 point from a year earlier to 1.25, meaning there were 125 jobs available for every 100 job seekers, marking the second consecutive year-on-year decline.
In March, the job-to-applicant ratio grew 0.02 point from February to 1.26, the labor ministry said. ■
