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Bloomberg
Japan’s availability of jobs increased for the 10th month in October, pointing to further tightness in the labour market that will likely keep upward pressure on wages.
The job-to-applicants ratio climbed to 1.35 last month, meaning there were 135 jobs offered for every 100 applicants, the labour ministry reported.
It was a slight rise from 134 positions a month earlier, and matched the economists’ forecast. A separate report also showed the unemployment rate remained low in October. The jobless rate stayed at 2.6%, according to the ministry of internal affairs.
While the figures suggest the buoyant labour conditions will keep upward pressure on wages, they still show tightness in the labour market remains well below the pre-pandemic levels that failed to produce the wage gains sought by Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.
He has repeatedly maintained that Japan needs wage growth of around 3% to meet its 2% sustainable inflation goal.