— Japan Apr Jobless Rate In Line With MNI Survey Median Forecast
— Japan Govt: Apr Jobs Data Exclude 3 Quake-Hit Prefectures
— Japan Apr SA Jobs -140,000 M/M, 2nd Drop; Mar -460,000
— Japan Apr SA Unemployed +20,000 M/M, 2nd Rise; Mar +10,000
— Japan Apr NSA Jobs +70,000 Y/Y, 1st Rise In 2 Mths; Mar -130,000
— Japan Apr NSA Unemployed -300,000 Y/Y, 11th Drop; Mar -260,000

TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s unemployment rate — national figures minus
the three prefectures hardest hit by the March 11 disaster — stood at
4.7% in April, up from a two-year low of 4.6% in March, as job losses
continued for the second straight month, data from the Ministry of
Internal Affairs and Communications showed on Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April matched the
median forecast in an MNI survey of economists.

The government has said that it is compiling employment and
unemployment data for April and onward without records from the Iwate,
Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, the hardest hit by the earthquake and
tsunami that wrecked the northeastern Pacific coast.

For the time being, the government will release only national data
minus the three prefectures from the monthly Labour Force survey.

The unemployment rate of 4.6% in February and March was the lowest
level since 4.5% marked in February 2009. The data showed that Japan’s
labor market had been improving steadily, at least until March 11.

Economists have warned that the jobless rate will move higher in
coming months because of the adverse economic impact caused by the March
11 disaster, which has wrecked numerous production facilities and
disrupted distribution networks in the Tohoku area, as well as
temporarily causing acute power supply shortages in eastern Japan.

In April, the number of payroll jobs fell a seasonally adjusted
140,000 month-on-month, or 0.2%, to 59.69 million, the second
consecutive m/m drop, after plunging 460,000 m/m in March.

The number of unemployed rose by a seasonally adjusted 20,000 in
April from the previous month, or 0.7%, to 2.92 million, also the second
consecutive m/m rise, after rising 10,000 in March.

On an unadjusted basis, the number of employed people fell by
70,000 to 59.94 million in April compared to a year earlier, marking the
first year-on-year rise in two months, after falling 130,000 in March.

Looking at the longer-term trend, the unadjusted number of jobless
workers was down by 300,000 in April from a year earlier at 3.09
million, marking the 11th consecutive year-on-year decline, after
falling 260,000 in March.

Job losses remained largely in construction, information and
communications, transport and postal activities, as well as
accommodations, eating and drinking services.

For April, the worst job losses were seen in wholesale and retail
trade, which had created jobs until March.

Meanwhile, job creation continued to be led by medical, health care
and welfare, education, learning support, manufacturing as well as
personal and amusement services.

Other details of the report follow: The number of workers who
retired or whose contracts expired: April -30,000 y/y at 390,000 vs.
March +20,000.

The number of those who lost their jobs and were looking for work:
April -180,000 y/y at 820,000 vs. March -270,000.

The number of people who quit their job voluntarily to look for
other openings: April -10,000 y/y at 970,000 million vs. March +30,000.

Separately, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said that the
ratio of job offers to job seekers at government placement offices stood
at a seasonally adjusted 0.61 in March, down from 0.63 in March (meaning
there were 61 job offers for every 100 people looking for work).

tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4833 **

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