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Change indicator
2.6%up 0.2 points from Jul 2026August 2026 · released 2 Oct 2026
−0.2 ptsover 5 years
Compare with: Compare
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By region
Asia-Pacific5
AustraliaMalaysiaSingaporeNew ZealandPhilippines
Europe22
GermanyFranceUnited KingdomNetherlandsEstoniaIrelandLatviaSloveniaCroatiaCzechiaLithuaniaPortugalAustriaDenmarkFinlandLuxembourgNorwaySwedenSpainPolandItalyBelgium
Middle East1
Saudi Arabia
North America3
CanadaUnited StatesMexico
South America2
ChileColombia

Get Japan unemployment rate updates by webhook

GET /v1/economics/JPN/unemployment
// webhook: { "type": "release.updated" }

Read historical data and the release calendar by API.

Get an API key

Key data points

Last release
2 Oct 2026
Observation period
August 2026
Next release
29 Oct 2026, 23:30 UTC
Previous
2.4% Jul 2026
Highest
5.8% Mar 2003
Lowest
0.9% Oct 1963
A year ago
2.6%
Data since
1953

Japan unemployment rate by year

Japan unemployment rate by year
YearAverageHighLowChange
2026 (to date)2.6%2.8%March 20262.4%July 20260.0
20252.5%2.7%April 20252.3%January 2025▲ +0.1
20242.6%2.8%April 20242.2%December 2024▼ −0.2
20232.6%2.8%March 20232.3%December 2023▼ −0.1
20222.6%2.8%May 20222.3%December 2022▼ −0.4
20212.8%3.1%May 20212.5%December 2021▼ −0.4
20202.8%3.1%October 20202.3%January 2020▲ +0.5
20192.4%2.6%April 20192.1%December 2019▼ −0.3
20182.4%2.6%April 20182.3%May 2018▼ −0.1
20172.8%3.1%May 20172.6%November 2017▼ −0.4
20163.1%3.4%April 20162.9%October 2016▼ −0.3
20153.4%3.6%April 20153.1%October 2015▼ −0.4
20143.6%3.9%April 20143.2%December 2014▼ −0.5
20134.0%4.4%April 20133.4%December 2013▼ −0.8
20124.4%4.8%April 20124.0%November 2012▼ −0.5
20114.6%5.0%April 20114.2%September 2011▼ −0.6
20105.1%5.4%April 20104.6%December 2010▼ −0.3
20095.1%5.5%September 20094.2%January 2009▲ +0.6
20084.0%4.1%February 20083.8%July 2008▲ +0.2
20073.8%4.2%March 20073.5%July 2007▼ −0.5
Show all
Japan unemployment rate by year
YearAverageHighLowChange
20064.1%4.5%January 20063.7%December 2006▼ −0.8
20054.4%4.8%March 20054.0%December 2005▼ −0.5
20044.7%5.0%February 20044.1%December 2004▼ −0.8
20035.3%5.8%March 20034.5%December 2003▼ −0.9
20025.4%5.7%March 20025.0%December 2002▼ −0.2
20015.0%5.3%September 20014.7%January 2001▲ +0.3
20004.7%5.2%March 20004.4%December 2000▼ −0.2
19994.7%5.0%March 19994.3%December 1999▼ −0.2
19984.1%4.3%April 19983.6%January 1998▲ +0.5
19973.4%3.5%February 19973.2%December 1997▼ −0.1
19963.4%3.5%January 19963.1%December 1996▼ −0.4
19953.2%3.3%March 19953.0%January 1995▲ +0.2
19942.9%3.2%March 19942.7%June 1994▼ −0.1
19932.5%2.6%March 19932.4%January 1993▲ +0.2
19922.2%2.3%March 19922.0%June 19920.0
19912.1%2.4%March 19912.0%June 1991▼ −0.1
19902.1%2.3%January 19901.9%December 1990▼ −0.4
19892.3%2.6%March 19891.9%December 1989▼ −0.5
19882.5%3.0%March 19882.2%December 1988▼ −0.6
19872.9%3.2%February 19872.5%November 1987▼ −0.6
19862.8%3.1%March 19862.6%June 1986▼ −0.1
19852.6%3.0%March 19852.4%July 19850.0
19842.7%3.1%March 19842.4%December 1984▼ −0.5
19832.7%3.0%March 19832.4%July 1983▼ −0.3
19822.4%2.6%March 19822.2%August 19820.0
19812.2%2.5%March 19812.0%August 1981▼ −0.1
19802.0%2.2%March 19801.8%June 19800.0
19792.1%2.5%March 19791.9%June 1979▼ −0.4
19782.2%2.6%March 19782.1%July 1978▼ −0.3
19772.0%2.4%March 19771.8%October 1977▼ −0.1
19762.0%2.4%January 19761.7%December 1976▼ −0.7
19751.9%2.2%March 19751.6%July 19750.0
19741.4%1.7%March 19741.1%July 1974▲ +0.2
19731.3%1.6%March 19731.0%October 1973▼ −0.4
19721.4%1.8%March 19721.2%June 1972▼ −0.4
19711.2%1.5%March 19711.1%May 19710.0
19701.2%1.3%January 19700.9%June 1970▼ −0.2
19691.1%1.5%March 19690.9%October 1969▼ −0.3
19681.2%1.7%March 19680.9%October 1968▼ −0.5
19671.3%2.3%March 19671.0%September 1967▼ −0.4
19661.3%2.1%March 19661.1%June 1966▼ −0.5
19651.2%1.6%March 19651.0%October 1965▼ −0.1
19641.2%1.8%March 19640.9%October 1964▼ −0.3
19631.3%2.1%March 19630.9%October 1963▼ −0.4
19621.3%1.9%March 19621.0%May 1962▼ −0.3
19611.4%1.9%March 19611.1%October 1961▼ −0.4
19601.6%2.4%March 19601.2%October 1960▼ −0.7
19592.2%3.4%March 19591.6%October 1959▼ −0.8
19582.0%2.9%March 19581.8%May 1958▼ −0.1
19571.9%2.8%March 19571.6%November 1957▼ −0.5
19562.3%3.6%March 19561.8%October 1956▼ −0.6
19552.5%3.0%March 19552.1%November 1955▼ −0.5
19542.2%2.7%August 19541.8%January 1954▲ +0.6
19531.9%2.2%March 19531.5%December 1953▼ −0.5

Download history

Preview

12 observations · January 2025 to December 2025

Selected historical observations
Date or periodValue · PercentSource
January 20252.3%Statistics Bureau of Japan; Cabinet Office of Japan; Japan Customs
February 20252.4%Statistics Bureau of Japan; Cabinet Office of Japan; Japan Customs
March 20252.6%Statistics Bureau of Japan; Cabinet Office of Japan; Japan Customs
April 20252.7%Statistics Bureau of Japan; Cabinet Office of Japan; Japan Customs
May 20252.6%Statistics Bureau of Japan; Cabinet Office of Japan; Japan Customs
June 20252.5%Statistics Bureau of Japan; Cabinet Office of Japan; Japan Customs
July 20252.4%Statistics Bureau of Japan; Cabinet Office of Japan; Japan Customs
August 20252.6%Statistics Bureau of Japan; Cabinet Office of Japan; Japan Customs
September 20252.6%Statistics Bureau of Japan; Cabinet Office of Japan; Japan Customs
October 20252.6%Statistics Bureau of Japan; Cabinet Office of Japan; Japan Customs
November 20252.4%Statistics Bureau of Japan; Cabinet Office of Japan; Japan Customs
December 20252.4%Statistics Bureau of Japan; Cabinet Office of Japan; Japan Customs

Indicator info

Category
Labour
Source
Statistics Bureau of Japan, Cabinet Office of Japan, Japan Customs
Frequency
Monthly
Units
Percent

The share of the labour force that is out of work and actively looking for a job.

Labour force participation rateAug 202664.2%Inflation rateAug 20261.9%Consumer price indexAug 2026102.2GDP growth rateQ2 20260.7%

Reports

Released 2 Oct 20262.6%August 2026
Next release, 23:30 UTC29 Oct 2026September 2026

History

Unemployment rate recent observations
PeriodValueChange
August 20262.6%+0.2
July 20262.4%−0.1
June 20262.5%−0.1
May 20262.6%−0.1
April 20262.7%−0.1
March 20262.8%+0.2
February 20262.6%0.0
January 20262.6%+0.2
December 20252.4%0.0
November 20252.4%−0.2
October 20252.6%0.0
September 20252.6%0.0
August 20252.6%

Common questions

What is the unemployment rate in Japan now?

The unemployment rate in Japan was 2.6% in August 2026, up 0.2 points from Jul 2026. The figure was released on 2 Oct 2026.

When is the next unemployment rate release for Japan?

The next release is scheduled for 29 Oct 2026, 23:30 UTC, covering September 2026.

What are the highest and lowest values of the unemployment rate in Japan?

In data since 1953, the highest was 5.8% in Mar 2003 and the lowest was 0.9% in Oct 1963.

Where does this data come from?

Published by Statistics Bureau of Japan, Cabinet Office of Japan, Japan Customs, and shown here exactly as published. Publishers revise figures, and the latest published figure replaces the earlier one.

Source
Statistics Bureau of Japan, Cabinet Office of Japan, Japan Customs
Economics methodology →
API
GET /v1/economics/JPN/unemployment
Economics API →