Worker Flows by Gender and Industry in Japan

After the late 2000s, there were substantial fluctuations in unemployment during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), Abenomics, and COVID-19 crisis, and their impact was uneven by gender and industry. This study examines the property of worker flows in Japan by focusing on gender and industry perspectives using monthly data from the Labour Force Survey. During the COVID-19 crisis, the transition probability from employment to inactivity rose sharply compared to the period of the GFC, mainly driven by women in the service sectors. The contribution of inflows to the dynamics of unemployment was on the rise for both men and women until around 2018, and the decreased unemployment rate during Abenomics can be accounted for by the decline in separation rates.