2019.02.2818:49:00UTC+00Japan Jobless Rate Climbs To 2.5% In January

The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent in January, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday.

That exceeded forecasts for 2.4 percent, which would have been unchanged from the December reading.

The job-to-applicant ratio was 1.63 - in line with expectations and unchanged from the previous month. The participation rate was at 61.2 percent, down from 61.4 percent a month earlier.

The number of employed persons in January was 66.28 million, an increase of 660,000 or 1.0 percent on year.

The number of unemployed persons in January was 1.66 million, an increase of 70,000 or an annual 4.4 percent.