[Research Report] January 2026 Active Job Openings Ratio is 1.18x, Unemployment Rate is 2.7%

The Tsunagu Work Style Research Institute (Location: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Director: Hiroshi Ohno), a research body for diverse work styles and part of Tsunagu Group Holdings Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Mitsuhiro Yoneda), which provides RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) and recruitment consulting, publishes a monthly "Labor Market Data Report" that curates and simplifies labor market-related data from government agencies. We are reporting on the summary of the January 2026 report, based on the latest data announced in early March.

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【Topics】

1. The active job openings-to-applicants ratio in January was 1.18, a decrease of 0.02 points from the previous month.

2. The unemployment rate was 2.7%, an increase from the previous month for the first time in five months.

3. The growth rate of new job openings decreased by 4.6% year-on-year, falling below the previous year's level for the ninth consecutive month.

1: The active job openings-to-applicants ratio for January was 1.18, a 0.02 point decrease from the previous month.

The seasonally adjusted active job openings-to-applicants ratio for January 2026 was 1.18, a decrease of 0.02 points from the previous month and 0.07 points from the same month last year. The ratio for part-time workers only (seasonally adjusted) was 1.11, a 0.07 point decrease year-on-year. The active job openings-to-applicants ratio for full-time employees (seasonally adjusted) was 0.99, a 0.04 point decrease year-on-year, falling below 1.0 for the fourth consecutive month.

2: The unemployment rate was 2.7%, increasing from the previous month for the first time in five months.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January 2026 was 2.7%, an increase of 0.1 points from the previous month and 0.2 points from the same month last year. By age group, only the 25-34 age group (-0.1 points) showed a decrease compared to the same month last year. The number of unemployed persons was 1.79 million, an increase of 160,000 from the same month last year.

3: The growth rate of new job openings decreased by 4.6% year-on-year, falling below the previous year's level for the ninth consecutive month.

The number of new job openings in January 2026 was...