The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said that Japan’s active job openings-to-applicants ratio for March was 1.28 to 1, an increase of 0.02 point from February.

This ratio shows how many jobs are available for each person looking for a job.

This is the first increase to the ratio in about one year and four months since it last increased in November 2022.

By industry, agriculture, forestry, and fishing saw a decrease in the number of jobs compared to the same month last year.

Manufacturing and other sectors also saw a decrease, attributed to the high prices of raw materials.

The ministry explained that while the number of people looking for jobs is decreasing due to expectations of future wage increases by workers, the number of jobs itself is also decreasing as companies investing more into welfare and other benefits for employees.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications also announced that the unemployment rate for March remained unchanged from February at 2.6%.