TOKYO, Nov 29: Japan’s jobless rate edged held steady in October and the availability of jobs hit a six-year high, government data showed on Friday, underlining improvement in the jobs market.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged from September’s 4.0 percent, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed. That compared with a median market forecast of 3.9 percent.
The jobs-to-applicants ratio stood at 0.98 in October, rising from 0.95 in the previous month to hit its highest since December 2007, separate data from the labour ministry showed. That beat 0.96 seen by economists, meaning nearly one job is available per job seeker.
The number of new job offers rose 0.6 percent in October from the previous month, and was up 10.8 percent compared with a year earlier.
For more background, please see PREVIEW
For a full table on the jobless data, go to the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications at: (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel