Despite improvement in the employment situation, the number of workers switching jobs continue to decrease sharply in Japan, reflecting the sluggish labour market amid the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic, reports Nippon, citing the country’s labour ministry. The number of workers in Japan switching jobs dropped 310,000 to 2.9 million in 2021, falling sharply for the second straight year. In its research on the labour economy, the ministry pointed to the need to facilitate the movement of human resources through job changes in order to tackle the serious labour shortages in sectors such as information technology, elderly care and welfare. In 2021, Japan's employment situation began to improve in October thanks to a recovery in social and economic activity after the government lifted its Covid-19 state of emergency and pre-emergency measures, the ministry added.