Regular Employees Up 160,000, Non-Regular Employees Up 150,000: July Labour Force Survey (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications)

Explanation

On August 28, 2026, the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released the results of the Labour Force Survey (Basic Tabulation) for July 2026 (Reiwa 8).

The number of employed persons was 68.50 million, the same as in the same month of the previous year. The number of employees was 62.33 million, up 360,000 from the same month of the previous year, marking the 53rd consecutive month of increase. Of these, the number of regular staff and employees was 37.36 million, up 160,000 from the same month of the previous year, the 33rd consecutive month of increase. The number of non-regular staff and employees was 21.43 million, up 150,000, marking the 4th consecutive month of increase.

The employment rate was 62.6%, up 0.2 percentage points from the same month of the previous year. The employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 was 80.5%, up 0.1 percentage points. The number of completely unemployed persons was 1.69 million, the same as in the same month of the previous year, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.4%, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.

By industry, compared with the same month of the previous year, the number of employed persons increased in fields such as "living-related and personal services and amusement services," while it decreased in fields such as "wholesale and retail trade." Looking at completely unemployed persons by reason for seeking work, those who left work "due to circumstances of the employer or business" increased by 10,000, and those who left "voluntarily (for personal reasons)" increased by 50,000, while those "newly seeking work" decreased by 30,000.