TOKYO: Japan’s average ratio of effective job openings to seekers fell 0.02 points in fiscal 2023 from the previous year to 1.29, the first decline in three years, the labor ministry said Tuesday.

Employers reduced job openings as soaring material prices weighed on earnings. The ratio represents the number of jobs available to each applicant at Hello Work public job placement offices across the country.

Separately, the internal affairs ministry said that the average jobless rate was 2.6 percent in the year ended last March, unchanged from the previous year.

The number of effective job openings fell 1.6 percent to 2.47 million, led by decreases at construction companies and manufacturers struggling with rising inflation.

Job growth is sluggish because companies have ramped up labor-saving investment, a labor ministry official said.

The internal affairs ministry said that 67.56 million people were employed in fiscal 2023.

Of the total, the number of women rose to 30.59 million, the highest since records began in 1953, apparently reflecting a labor shortage, inflation, and government policies to promote women in the workforce.

In March alone, the seasonally adjusted job availability ratio rose 0.02 points from the previous month to 1.28, while the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.6 percent.

JIJI Press