The seasonally adjusted effective jobs-to-applicant ratio in Japan fell 0.02 point month on month in June to 1.22, the labor ministry said Friday.
It marked a second consecutive month of decreases. Applicants increased as soaring prices of food and other goods drew many into the job market to earn money to cover living expenses.
The ratio indicates the number of jobs available to each applicant at public employment security offices across the country.
The number of effective job seekers rose 0.4%, while that of effective job openings was down 1.2% due to a decrease of large-scale recruitment.
Separately, the internal affairs ministry said that the country's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in June stood at 2.5%, unchanged from May. The number of unemployed people was at about the same level as in the previous month, at 1.72 million, while that of people with jobs declined by 50,000 to 68.32 million.
The unadjusted number of employed people totaled 68.73 million, the highest since comparable data became available in January 1953. The increase reflected the growth in the number of female workers.
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