Japan Unemployment Rate

Japan’s unemployment rate stood at 2.6% in October 2025, unchanged from the previous two months but slightly above market expectations of 2.5%. It remained the highest reading since July 2024, as the number of unemployed increased by 40 thousand to a near four-year high of 1.85 million. Meanwhile, employment rose by 120 thousand to a record high of 68.46 million, while the labor force expanded by 160 thousand to 70.30 million. The number of people outside the labor force decreased by 150 thousand to 39.31 million. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the labor force participation rate stood at 64.2%, flat from September but up from 63.5% a year earlier. At the same time, the jobs-to-applicants ratio fell to 1.18, the lowest level since January 2022, from 1.20 in September.