The number of regular subscribers to employment insurance increased in the past month, but the gains were concentrated among those 60 and older. Regular employment insurance subscriptions among those 29 and younger fell instead.
According to the "labor market trends based on employment administrative statistics" that the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) released on the 13th, as of the end of the past month there were 15,855,000 regular subscribers to employment insurance. That was up 264,000 from June last year (15,591,000). The number of regular subscribers to employment insurance has been increasing in the high-200,000 range for six straight months this year.
Those 60 and older led the rise in regular employment insurance subscribers. By age, those 60 and older (+206,000) showed the largest increase among all age groups. The number of employment insurance subscribers also grew among those in their 30s (+82,000) and 50s (+41,000). In contrast, those 29 and younger in the youth group fell by 63,000, the largest drop among all age groups. Those in their 40s also fell by 2,200.
By industry, service industry subscribers in the past month totaled 11,122,000, up 279,000 from the same month a year earlier (10,843,000). Within services, the increases were large in health and welfare (112,000) and lodging and food (55,000). Construction industry subscribers were 744,000, down 8,000 from a year earlier (752,000). That marked 35 straight months of decline as of the past month. Manufacturing subscribers also fell by 9,000 in a year, from 3,848,000 to 3,839,000, for a 13th straight monthly decline.
Based on the government jobs platform "Employment 24," new job openings in the past month totaled 183,000. That was up 32,000 from the same month a year earlier (151,000). New job seekers totaled 384,000, down 3,000 from the same month a year earlier (387,000).