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

Tsunagu Working Style Institute (Location: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Director: Hiroshi Ohno), a research organization for diverse working styles under Tsunagu Group Holdings (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Mitsuhiro Yoneda), publishes a monthly "Labor Market Data Report" that curates and summarizes labor market data released by government agencies in an easy-to-understand format. We are pleased to report on the January 2026 data, based on the latest figures released in early March.

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

2. The unemployment rate was 2.7%, increasing from the previous month for the first time in 5 months.

3. The growth rate of new job openings decreased by 4.6% year-on-year, remaining below the previous year's level for the 9th consecutive month.

1: The active job openings ratio for January was 1.18, a decrease of 0.02 points from the previous month.

The active job openings ratio (seasonally adjusted) 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 job openings ratio for part-time positions (seasonally adjusted) was 1.11, down 0.07 points year-on-year. The active job openings ratio for full-time employees (seasonally adjusted) was 0.99, a decrease of 0.04 points 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 5 months.

The unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) 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 saw a year-on-year decrease (-0.1 points). The total number of unemployed persons was 1.79 million, an increase of 160,000 compared to 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 9th consecutive month.

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