1st LD: Japan's unemployment rate improves in February as job availability hits 23-year high

Japan's unemployment rate improved in February as companies hired more staff following improving corporate earnings, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday.

According to the ministry, the unemployment rate improved to a seasonally-adjusted 3.5 percent in February, compared to 3.6 percent logged in January, with the latest reading being in line with median economists' expectations.

For males the jobless rate came it at 3.7 percent in the recording period, while for females it stood at 3.2 percent, the ministry said, with the total number of unemployed people in February totaling a seasonally adjusted 2.3 million, down by 50, 000.

The number of employed people in February, meanwhile, stood at 63.76 million, the statistics bureau said, a rise of 20,000.

"The unemployment rate fell as the number of people who can find a job climbed. The employment situation is on a recovery track in general," an official at the internal affairs ministry was quoted as saying after the data was released.

Those in non-regular employment dropped by 150,000 to 19.74 million, marking the first drop in this area since such data became available at the beginning of last year.

The number of jobs available to those seeking them improved in February to its best level in nearly 23 years, separate data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed Friday, with the jobs-to-applicant ratio coming in at 1.15. in line with median forecasts and rising from 1.14 logged in January.

The latest figures marks the first time in two months the ratio of employment offers to job seekers increased. Endi