Japan’s employment (May 2026): workers up

Research evidence excerpt

Japan’s employment (May 2026): workers up

30 June 2026

Mizuho Securities Equity Research Economics / Domestic and Overseas Economy

Economic Comment

New job openings turn down; wage growth slowing, but still around 2.5%–2.9%

Japan’s unemployment rate (all figures seasonally adjusted) remained steadyChief Economist:

at 2.5% in May 2026 (2.5% in April) and the ratio of job openings to job seekersShunsuke Kobayashi

declined to 1.17x (1.18x in April). The Bloomberg consensus estimates were+81 3 6202 8222

shunsuke.kobayashi@mizuho-sc.com 2.5% and 1.18x, respectively. The ratio of new job openings to job seekers

was unchanged from the previous month, at 2.11x.

Economist:

Soichiro Hirose May employment statistics were mixed. The number of employed people

+81 3 6202 8293 increased, with particularly strong gains for the self-employed and regular

soichiro.hirose@mizuho-sc.com employees. The number of unemployed also fell for both voluntary and

Economist: involuntary resignations. The decline in the latter is especially indicative of an

Iichi Ogimi improving labor environment. On the other hand, however, the number of new

+81 3 6202 8599 job openings turned down even though the ratio of new job openings to job

iichi.ogimi@mizuho-sc.com seekers was unchanged. The ratio of new job openings to job seekers has

been fluctuating at a low level since August 2025.

Reviewing wage statistics, we see an ongoing slowdown in the growth rate

for scheduled earnings (comparable establishment basis), although growth

remains in the 2.5%–2.9% range. At the same time, wage growth has been

rising since the sample reshuffle in the January 2026 final report, so the new

data should be interpreted with a degree of latitude.

Employment and unemployment trends