TOKYO -- The coronavirus pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to Japan's labor market, with people without a job for at least a year surging to the highest levels since the global financial crisis triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers more than a decade ago.
Long-term unemployment reached 640,000 in the October-December term of 2021, jumping 31% from before the pandemic, a labor force survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications shows.
