Photo/Illutration Kyowa Co. sought 50 workers in June for its production base in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture. (Takunori Yasuda)

KANAZAWA—Job offers are rising in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, indicating that businesses are resuming operations in areas hit hard by the Jan. 1 earthquake.

At Hello Work Wajima, a public employment security office in charge of the Oku-Noto area, the ratio of job offers to job seekers improved to 0.69 in June, according to the Ishikawa Labor Bureau, a branch of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

The figure means there were 69 job offers to every 100 job seekers.

Although the ratio was down 0.47 point from a year earlier, it was up from 0.64 in May and 0.62 in April.

The Oku-Noto area consists of the cities of Wajima and Suzu and the towns of Noto and Anamizu.

By comparison, the ratio of job offers to job seekers stood at 1.23 nationwide and 1.42 for all of Ishikawa Prefecture in June.

The Ishikawa Labor Bureau said some companies have resumed operations and manufacturers are looking to hire.

Osaka-based Kyowa Co., a construction materials supplier, sought 50 workers in June for its production base in Suzu as demand for nets, a mainstay product, increased.

Dontaku Co., which operates 13 supermarkets in Ishikawa Prefecture, reopened its outlet in Anamizu in mid-July and began seeking several part-time workers.

Fukui-based Yasusaki Co. is also looking for workers at its 100-yen shop in Wajima.

At Hello Work Nanao, which is in charge of the Naka-Noto area, the ratio of job offers to job seekers rose to 1.03 in June, up from 0.96 in May.

The June figure was down 0.36 point from a year earlier.

The Naka-Noto area covers the cities of Nanao and Hakui and the towns of Shika, Naka-Noto and Hodatsushimizu.

The Ishikawa Labor Bureau said companies are offering more jobs not only because they resumed operations but also because residents have returned from evacuation.

“Hopeful signs are appearing in the jobs market, depending on the industry,” an official said.

Demand for workers remains sluggish at accommodation facilities, such as inns in the Wakura Onsen hot-spring resort in Nanao. But new hirings are slowly recovering in the restaurant industry.

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