The number of regular Employment Insurance enrollees increased by more than 200,000 last month, but enrollees age 29 and younger decreased. Among all age groups, only the youth cohort saw a decline in regular Employment Insurance enrollment.
According to the "Labor market trends based on employment administrative statistics" that the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) released on the 10th, the number of regular Employment Insurance enrollees as of the end of last month was 15,877,000. That was up 277,000 from July last year (15,600,000). The number of regular Employment Insurance enrollees has been increasing by at least 200,000 for seven consecutive months this year.
By age, the number fell by 57,000 among those 29 and younger. In all other age groups, the number of regular Employment Insurance enrollees increased. Specifically, those in their 30s increased by 85,000, those in their 40s by 4,000, those in their 50s by 37,000, and those 60 and older by 209,000.
By industry, regular Employment Insurance enrollment increased mainly in services (+285,000). Within services, health and welfare (+112,000), which includes hospitals, clinics, and welfare facilities, saw a large gain. In contrast, manufacturing fell by 3,000 and construction fell by 7,000. As a result, manufacturing has declined for 14 consecutive months and construction for 36 consecutive months.
Based on the government job platform Employment24, new job openings last month totaled 177,000. That was up 13,000 from the same month a year earlier (164,000). In contrast, new job seekers totaled 399,000, down 11,000 from the same month a year earlier (410,000).