Economic and Labor Situation in Japan, April 2025

2025 Spring Struggle for a Better Life

On April 3, RENGO (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) carried out its third tally of wage hike settlements reached in the 2025 Spring Struggle for a Better Life. At small and medium-sized unions with less than 300 members, the average wage increase rate, including the base-up increase in basic wages and regular raises, stood at 5.00%, reaching the highest level since 1992 compared to final tallies of the past. The average across all unions was 5.42%.

At a press conference on April 4, Tomoko Yoshino, Chairperson of RENGO, commented on the wage increase rate among small and medium-sized unions reaching the 5% range, stating, “I would like to express my gratitude for the sincere negotiations between labor and management at the individual level.” She also expressed her intention to “maintain this level” in the negotiations expected to continue through the end of May.

RENGO’s survey revealed that 2,485 unions that had demanded average wage hikes for members and engaged in labor–management negotiations had reached settlements by that time.

The average wage hike in these settlements (including the regular wage hike) was 17,358 yen, the equivalent of 5.42% of the average wage before the hike: more than at the same stage last year at 1,321 yen and 0.18 percentage points.

At unions with more than 1000 members, the average wage hike was 17,963 yen, up 5.48%: more than at the same stage last year at 1,341 yen and 0.20 percentage points.

Of unions with fewer than 300 members, the average wage hike was 13,360 yen, up 5.00%: more than at the same stage last year at 1,263 yen and 0.31 percentage points.

Labour Force Survey Monthly Results¹

(1) The number of employed persons in February 2025 was 67.68 million, an increase of 400,000 over the same month the previous year. By gender, this included 36.81 million men, down 20,000, and 30.87 million women, up 420,000 from the previous year.

(2) Unemployment

The number of unemployed persons in February 2025 was 1.65 million, down 12,000 from the same month in the previous year.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in February was 2.4%, down 0.1 from the same month the previous year. The unemployment rate was 2.5% for men, down 0.1, and 2.3% for women, unchanged from the same month the previous year.

Units: 10,000 persons

(3) Job Availability

Japan’s job availability in February stood at 1.24, down 0.02 from the previous month. This ratio means there were 124 job openings for every 100 job seekers.

The ratio of regular employee job offers to applicants was 1.03, unchanged from the previous month.

The ratio of new job offers to applicants, a leading indicator for the labor market, was 2.30, down 0.02 from the previous month. The number of new job offers decreased 5.9% from the same month the previous year. By industry, the accommodation and food services sector and living-related and personal services and amusement services sector decreased 17.6% and 0.5%, respectively.

Industrial Production²

Industrial Production Fluctuates Indecisively

Industrial output in February increased 2.5% over the previous month, marking the first gain in four months. Production and shipments increased, while inventory ratio and inventories decreased. The industries that mainly contributed to this increase were as follows: (1) production machinery; (2) electronic parts and devices; and (3) chemicals (excl. inorganic, organic chemicals, and medicine), in that order.

According to the Survey of Production Forecasts in Manufacturing, production was expected to increase 0.6% in March and increase 0.1% in April..

February 2025           2015 average = 100

Family Income and Expenditure Survey³

(1) Expenditure of Households of Two Persons or More

Average monthly consumption expenditure of households of two or more persons in February was 290,511 yen, up 3.8% in nominal terms but down 0.5% in real terms from the previous year, marking the first decline in three months, as consumers continued to cut back on food expenditure amid surging prices.

(2) Income and Expenditures for Workers’ Households

Average monthly income per household stood at 571,993 yen, up 1.9% in nominal terms but down 2.3% in real terms from the previous year. The average level of consumption expenditure was 313,977 yen per month, up 2.0% in nominal terms but down 2.2% in real terms year-on-year.

Consumer Prices⁴

The consumer price index (CPI) in February was 110.8 (2020 = 100), up 3.7% over the previous year and down 0.1% from the previous month. Core inflation (CPI less food and energy) was up 2.6% over the previous year and up 0.2% over the previous month. The inflation rate has remained at or above the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent price stability target since April 2022.

Prices for rice, Japan’s staple food, still soared 81.4% over the previous year, the biggest increase since comparable data became available in 1971. As the government reinstated its subsidies to alleviate the burden of utility bills on households between January and March, energy prices were up 6.9% from a year earlier, easing from a rise of 10.8% in January. Electricity prices rose 9.0%, sharply decelerating from an 18.0% climb in January, while prices for city gas grew 3.5%, also slowing from a 9.6% gain.

February 2025

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1. Source: Labour Force Survey Monthly Results (Statistics Bureau of Japan)
   (https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/roudou/results/month/index.html)
2. Source: Indices of Industrial Production (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)
   (https://www.meti.go.jp/english/statistics/tyo/iip/index.html)
3. Source: Summary of the Latest Month on Family Income and Expenditure Survey (Statistics Bureau of Japan)
   (https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kakei/156.html)
4. Source: Consumer Price Index (Statistics Bureau of Japan)
   (https HYPERLINK “https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/cpi/1581-z.html” HYPERLINK “https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/cpi/1581-z.html“://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/cpi/1581-z.html)