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January 30, 2024JAPAN LABOUR FORCE SURVEY, DECEMBER AND ANNUAL 2023 
Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged down to 2.4% in December from November 2023. Compared with the previous month, Japan's labour force contracted 0.3% while employment fell 0.2%.
Japan's unemployment rate has returned close to pre-pandemic levels. However, Japan's labour force and employment growth have largely stalled. In contrast, Canada and Nova Scotia now have employment and labour force that substantially exceed pre-pandemic levels despite the much larger declines observed in each variable during the first wave of the pandemic.
ANNUAL
Japan's annual average unemployment rate remained unchanged from 2022 at 2.6% in 2023. The unemployment rate increased in Canada in 2023 and declined in Nova Scotia.
The aging of Japan's population weighed on labour force and employment growth from the late 1990s to the early 2010s. Employment and labour force growth has remained relatively flat since the start of the pandemic. Labour force growth of 0.3% was only slightly slower than employment growth of 0.4% in Japan in 2023.
Nova Scotia's labour force and employment also contracted from 2012 to 2015 (coinciding with declining population). Since then, Nova Scotia's labour force and employment have returned to growth, and employment growth has outpaced labour force growth for the last three years.
Canada's labour force and employment growth have been more rapid than those in Japan or Nova Scotia over recent decades. Only periods of recession interrupted Canada's otherwise steady employment and labour force growth over this period.
Sources: Statistics Bureau of Japan. Table: a-1 (Seasonally adjusted) Major items (Labour force, Employed person, Employee, Unemployed person, Not in labour force, Unemployment rate (since Jan.1953); Population aged 15 years old and over by labour force status (annual average figures - Results of whole Japan); Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0287-01 Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle
Annual: Statistics Bureau of Japan. Table: 2-1 Population aged 15 years old and over by labour force status (Labour force, Employed person, Unemployed person, Not in labour force, Labour force participation rate, Employment rate, Unemployment rate, etc.); Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0327-01 Labour force characteristics by sex and detailed age group, annual
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