Japan’s June unemployment rate lowest since January

The unemployment rate in Japan was reported at 2.5% in June, down from 2.6% in the prior four months, data by the Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications showed.

It has been the lowest jobless rate since January.

The number of unemployed persons went down by 60,000 to 1.76 million in June, while the number of employed persons rose by 250,000 to a record high of 67.86 million.

In the meantime, Japan’s labor force expanded by 10,000 to 69.44 million in June, while persons detached from the labor force decreased by 150,000 to 40.44 million.

And, the jobs to applications ratio in Japan dropped to 1.23 in June from 1.24 in May, which has been its lowest level since April 2022.

The Japanese Yen was 0.49% weaker on the day against the US Dollar, with the USD/JPY currency pair last trading at 154.750.

Market focus now sets on the Bank of Japan’s policy decision on Wednesday along with its quarterly outlook report. Investors will be looking for more plain measures toward reducing bond purchases in the future.