Economic and Labour Situation in Japan, February 2025 In 2024, Record-High 67.81 Million Employed
| Economic and Labour Situation in Japan, February 2025
In 2024, Record-High 67.81 Million Employed According to the Labor Force Survey 2024 Yearly, despite the declining population, the number of employed individuals reached a record-high 67.81 million in 2024, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth. The labor force participation rate climbed to 61.7%, setting a new record. By gender, the participation rate for men rose by 0.1 percentage points to 69.6%, while for women, it increased by 0.6 points to 54.2%. Until 2018, labor force participation rate remained in the 50% range, but since 2019, it has surpassed 60%. This increase has been driven primarily by the growing participation of women and seniors aged 65 and older in the labor market. In 2024, the number of employed women increased by 310,000 year-on-year to a record-high 30.82 million. Additionally, the number of employed individuals aged 65 and over grew by 160,000 to 9.3 million, pushing their employment rate up by 0.5 points to 25.7%.
By industry, employment in the information and communications sector increased by 140,000 to 2.92 million, in medical and welfare services by 120,000 to 9.22 million, and in accommodation and food services by 90,000 to 4.07 million. On the other hand, manufacturing saw a decline of 90,000 to 10.46 million, agriculture and forestry dropped by 70,000 to 1.8 million, and construction decreased by 60,000 to 4.77 million.
By employment type, regular employment saw a significant increase of 390,000, while non-regular employment, including part-time, temporary, and contract workers, grew by only 20,000. Looking at the labor force by gender, the number of men in the workforce declined by 10,000 to 38 million, whereas the number of women increased by 330,000 to 31.57 million, demonstrating a consistent yearly growth in female labor participation.
The average number of unemployed persons was 1.76 million, down 20,000 from the previous year. The average unemployment rate was 2.5%, down 0.1 point from the previous year.
Labour Force Survey Monthly Results¹ (1)The number of employed persons in December 2024 was 68.11 million, an increase of 570,000 over the same month the previous year. By gender, this included 36.98 million men, up 13,000, and 31.12 million women, up 430,000 from the previous year.
(2) Unemployment The number of unemployed persons in December 2024 was 1.54 million, a decrease of 20,000 from the same month in the previous year. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in December was 2.4%, down 0.1 from the same month the previous year. The unemployment rate was 2.5% for men and 2.4% for women unchanged from the same month the previous year.
Unemployment rate in 2024 fell 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier to 2.5 %, as fewer workers were dismissed amid a labor shortage.
Units: 10,000 persons
(3) Job Availability Japan’s job availability in December stood at 1.25, unchanged from the previous month. This ratio means there were 125 job openings for every 100 job seekers. The ratio of regular employee job offers to applicants was 1.03, up 0.01 over the previous month. The ratio of new job offers to applicants, a leading indicator for the labour market, was 2.26, up 0.01 over the previous month. The number of new job offers decreased 3.7% from the same month the previous year. By industry, Information and communications sector rose at 9.3%. The manufacturing sector fell 7.6%.
Industrial Production² Industrial Production Fluctuates Indecisively Industrial output in December increased 0.3% over the previous month. Production and shipments increased, while inventory ratio and inventories decreased. The industries that mainly contributed to this increase were as follows: (1) production machinery; (2) electronic parts and devices; and (3) inorganic and organic chemicals, in that order. According to the Survey of Production Forecasts in Manufacturing, production was expected to increase 1.0% in January and increase 1.2% in February.
December 2024 2015 average = 100
Industrial output in 2024 dropped 2.3 % from the previous year for the third consecutive year of decline, with production at automakers hit by a quality certification scandal.
Family Income and Expenditure Survey³ (1) Expenditure of Households of Two Persons or More Average monthly consumption expenditure of households of two or more persons in December was 352,633 yen, up 7.0% in nominal terms and up 2.7% in real terms from the previous year. (2) Income and Expenditures for Workers’ Households Average monthly income per household stood at 1,179,259 yen (including bonus payments), up 7.2% in nominal terms and up 2.9% in real terms from the previous year. The average level of consumption expenditure was 379,200 yen per month, up 8.7% in nominal terms and up 4.3% in real terms year-on-year.
Consumer Prices⁴ The consumer price index (CPI) in December was 110.7 (2020 = 100), up 3.6% over the previous year and up 0.6% over the previous month. Core inflation (CPI less food and energy) was up 2.4% over the previous year and up 0.2% over the previous month. Prices for rice, Japan’s staple food, still soared 65.5% over the previous year, the highest increase in nearly 49 years. As the government terminated its subsidies to alleviate the burden of utility bills on households in the reporting month, energy prices climbed 10.1 %, up from a 6.0 % increase in November. Electricity prices surged 18.7 %, accelerating from 9.9 % in November, and city gas prices jumped 11.1 %, compared with a 6.4 % gain the previous month. December 2024
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1. Source: Labour Force Survey Monthly Results (Statistics Bureau of Japan) 2. Source: Indices of Industrial Production (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) 3. Source: Summary of the Latest Month on Family Income and Expenditure Survey (Statistics Bureau of Japan) 4. Source: Consumer Price Index (Statistics Bureau of Japan)
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