General Employment Referrals, August 2026
Overview
In the general employment referral statistics for August 2026 published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the active job openings-to-applicants ratio was 1.18, unchanged from the previous month, while the new job openings-to-applicants ratio fell by 0.04 percentage points to 2.06. The active ratio for regular employees was flat at 1.00. Active job openings and active job seekers each rose 0.7% month over month, while new job openings fell 3.4% year over year. The report also shows changes by industry and the highest and lowest active ratios by prefecture.
Key points
- The active job openings-to-applicants ratio was unchanged from the previous month, while the new ratio declined.
- New job openings declined year over year, with changes varying by industry.
- The prefectures with the highest and lowest ratios differed between the workplace and application-receipt locations.
Overview
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare compiles data on job openings, job seekers, and placements at public employment security offices (Hello Work) and publishes indicators such as job openings-to-applicants ratios each month as the General Employment Referrals statistics. This release covers August 2026.
Monthly figures are seasonally adjusted. Figures through December 2025 were revised using new seasonal indices when the January 2026 figures were released.
Details
In August 2026, the active job openings-to-applicants ratio was unchanged from the previous month, while the new ratio was lower. The active ratio for regular employees was also unchanged from the previous month.
Active job openings and active job seekers each rose 0.7% month over month, while new job openings fell 3.4% year over year. By industry, new job openings rose 3.9% in manufacturing, 3.3% in information and communications, and 0.9% in services not elsewhere classified. They fell 11.1% in accommodation and food services, 10.2% in wholesale and retail trade, and 5.7% in lifestyle-related services and amusement services, among other industries.
By workplace location, Fukui Prefecture had the highest active job openings-to-applicants ratio and Osaka Prefecture the lowest. By application-receipt location, Tokyo had the highest ratio and Kanagawa Prefecture the lowest.
The active job openings-to-applicants ratio for regular employees is calculated by dividing the monthly number of active job openings for regular employees by the monthly number of active job seekers in regular employment, excluding part-time workers. This job-seeker count also includes people seeking temporary agency or contract work, so the resulting figure is lower than a strictly defined ratio for regular employees. Industry classifications are based on the Japan Standard Industrial Classification, revised in July 2023.
Following expanded functionality of the Hello Work Internet Service, figures from September 2021 onward include people who registered as job seekers online without visiting an office, as well as placements resulting from direct applications to job postings on the service.