Japan unemployment falls to 2.9 pct in November

Tokyo, Dec 25 (efe-epa).- The unemployment rate in Japan fell in November to 2.9 percent of the workforce, two tenths less than the level registered last October, according to data released Friday by the government.

The 3.1 percent unemployment rate registered in October, linked to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, was the highest level in the country since 2017, when it had also reached 3.1 percent.

In November, on the other hand, the rate was reduced by two tenths and affected 1.95 million people, although with an increase of 440,000 since November 2019, according to figures from the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The number of people with work in Japan reached 67.07 million in November, with a reduction of 550,000 or 0.8 percent compared to the same month in 2019. This is the eighth consecutive month that the number of people employed has decreased.

The number of jobs available per 100 job seekers in the country was 106 in November, up from 104 in October.

Japan closed 2019 with unemployment of 2.2 percent, but this year’s levels have been slightly above due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has been circulating in the country from mid-January. EFE-EPA

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