Unemployment rate,Percent in Japan
Japan: Unemployment rate,Percent was 2.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
2.5%
Change on year
down 1.6%
World rank
66th
of 71 countries
All-time high
5.4%
in 2002
All-time low
2.1%
in 1991
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Unemployment rate,Percent in Japan, 1990–2025
Source: World Bank.
Analysis
In 2025, unemployment rate,percent in Japan stood at 2.5%.
The figure is down 1.6% on the previous year and down 25.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment rate,percent in Japan peaked at 5.4% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 2.1%, in 1991.
Japan ranks 66th of 71 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Unemployment rate,Percent in Japan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.1% | — |
| 1991 | 2.1% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 2.2% | +2.5% |
| 1993 | 2.5% | +16.4% |
| 1994 | 2.9% | +15.5% |
| 1995 | 3.2% | +9.1% |
| 1996 | 3.4% | +6.3% |
| 1997 | 3.4% | +1.6% |
| 1998 | 4.1% | +20.9% |
| 1999 | 4.7% | +13.8% |
| 2000 | 4.7% | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 5.0% | +6.9% |
| 2002 | 5.4% | +6.6% |
| 2003 | 5.3% | -2.3% |
| 2004 | 4.7% | -10.2% |
| 2005 | 4.4% | -6.2% |
| 2006 | 4.1% | -6.4% |
| 2007 | 3.8% | -7.3% |
| 2008 | 4.0% | +4.1% |
| 2009 | 5.1% | +26.9% |
| 2010 | 5.0% | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 4.6% | -9.2% |
| 2012 | 4.3% | -5.1% |
| 2013 | 4.0% | -7.5% |
| 2014 | 3.6% | -10.8% |
| 2015 | 3.4% | -6.0% |
| 2016 | 3.1% | -7.7% |
| 2017 | 2.8% | -9.8% |
| 2018 | 2.4% | -13.0% |
| 2019 | 2.3% | -3.8% |
| 2020 | 2.8% | +18.2% |
| 2021 | 2.8% | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 2.6% | -7.7% |
| 2023 | 2.6% | -1.3% |
| 2024 | 2.5% | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 2.5% | -1.6% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 2.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.0%, 50% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Japan's 2.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.3%, 77% of the median. (10 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.0% | 2.1% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.7% | 3.8% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.6% | 2.3% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.6% | 2.5% | 2.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More reference data data for Japan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.981 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3629 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 23.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.98 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment rate,percent in Japan?
- Unemployment rate,percent in Japan was 2.5% in 2025, according to the World Bank.
- What is the highest unemployment rate,percent recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 5.4% in 2002.
- What is the lowest unemployment rate,percent recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.1% in 1991.
- How does Japan rank for unemployment rate,percent?
- Japan ranks 66th out of 71 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment rate,percent rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Unemployment rate,Percent,,,. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).