Japan jobless rate falls to 2.5% in June, 1st improvement in 5 months

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan’s unemployment rate in June fell to 2.5 percent from 2.6 percent the previous month, marking the first improvement in five months, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Tuesday.

People with jobs totaled 68.22 million in June, up 370,000 from a year earlier and the highest number since comparable records began in 1953, according to a ministry official.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the figure was up 0.4 percent from a month earlier at 67.86 million.

The total number of unemployed people fell 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted 1.76 million in June, as fewer people left their jobs voluntarily or sought new work.

Separate data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed the job availability ratio fell 0.01 point from June to 1.23, a third consecutive month of decline, indicating there were 123 jobs available for every 100 job seekers.