Japan jobless rate falls to 3.5% in October

[TOKYO] Japan's jobless rate fell and the availability of jobs edged higher in October from the previous month, government data released on Friday showed.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.5 per cent from 3.6 per cent in September, compared with economists' median forecast for the jobless rate to remain unchanged, figures from the internal affairs ministry showed.

The jobs-to-applicants ratio rose to 1.10 from 1.09 in September, returning to a level that matches the highest since June 1992. That compared with the median forecast that the ratio would remain unchanged, data from the labour ministry showed.

The number of new job offers fell 0.3 per cent in October from the previous month but rose 1.1 per cent from a year earlier.

REUTERS