The number of Japan’s non-regular employees, which includes temporary workers, dispatch workers, contractors, part-time workers and others, totalled 21.46 million in January 2024, up 0.6% when compared to the same period a year ago, according to data from Statistics Japan.

Further data showed that the number of ‘dispatched workers from temporary labour agencies’ increased year-on-year by 3.4% in January 2024 to a total of 1.50 million.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate in Japan stood at 2.4% in January 2024, this was unchanged from the same period a year ago and down 0.1% compared to revised data from December 2023.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate matched economists' median forecast in a Reuters poll.

The number of unemployed people is 1.63 million. This is a decrease of 10,000 people compared to the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the number of employed persons is 67.14 million. An increase of 250,000 people compared to the same month last year. Statistics Japan noted that this was the 18th consecutive month where the figure increased.

At the same time, the jobs-to-applicants ratio was unchanged from December at 1.27, the median forecast, according to Reuters.