Kobe Keizai News — The Hyogo Labor Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on October 31st that Hyogo Prefecture’s seasonally adjusted job openings-to-applicants ratio stood at 0.95 in September, unchanged from the previous month. Both the number of active job seekers and the number of active job openings (seasonally adjusted), which are used to calculate the ratio, declined. The bureau left its assessment of local employment conditions unchanged, stating for the second consecutive month that “the number of job seekers continues to exceed job openings, and the recovery movement in employment is weakening.”

The number of active job openings (seasonally adjusted) used in the ratio fell 1.2% from the previous month to 76,211, marking the fourth straight month of decline. The number of active job seekers (seasonally adjusted) also decreased 0.6% to 80,596, the first decline in five months. The new job openings-to-applicants ratio (seasonally adjusted), regarded as a leading indicator of employment trends, rose 0.01 point to 1.70, showing the first improvement in five months. Along with its overall assessment, the bureau maintained its warning that “continued attention is needed regarding the impact of rising prices and other factors on employment.”

The number of job seekers appeared to level off, as moves to change jobs in search of better working conditions subsided. Meanwhile, growing uncertainty in the global economy, driven by factors such as U.S. trade policies, together with higher prices and labor costs, has led companies to prioritize maintaining current employment levels and adopt a more cautious stance toward new hiring. As a result, a rapid increase in job openings seems unlikely.

By industry, the unadjusted number of new job openings declined in manufacturing (down 198 to 2,913), wholesale and retail trade (down 531 to 2,582), and accommodation and food services (down 394 to 1,016). On the other hand, the category of “services (not elsewhere classified)”, which includes security and temporary staffing, increased by 158 to 3,954.

Nationwide, the seasonally adjusted job openings-to-applicants ratio in September was 1.20, unchanged from the previous month, according to data released the same day by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.