Japan's job availability ratio in 2020 logged the sharpest drop since 1975, while the average unemployment rate marked the first rise in 11 years, highlighting the magnitude of the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic on workers, government data showed Friday.
The job availability ratio fell 0.42 point to 1.18, the fastest pace since a 0.59 point drop in 1975 recorded in the wake of the 1973 global oil crisis, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. It means there were 118 job openings for every 100 job seekers.
The pace of decline surpassed the 0.41 point slip logged in 2009 following the global financial crisis, with the figure hitting the lowest level since 1.09 in 2014, the labor ministry said.