1st LD Writethru: Jobless rate in Japan improves as companies' profits recover

Unemployment rate in Japan improved for the second successive month in March, coming in at a seasonally adjusted 3.4 percent on year compared to 3.5 percent logged a month earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday.

According to the ministry, the improving unemployment situation was owing to companies actively hiring more workers as their profits start to show signs of recovery and the reading of 3.4 percent came in ahead of median analysts' expectations for a reading of 3.5 percent, the same as the reading in February.

The data released Friday showed that on a seasonally adjusted basis there were a total of 2.21 million people unemployed in Japan in the recording period, a drop of 3.9 percent compared to the previous month. Those in gainful employment were recorded at 63.66 million, a 0.2 percent slide from February, the ministry said.

The ministry added that of those unemployed in the recording period, 3.6 percent were men, compared to 3.1 percent being women.

The job-to-applicant ratio came in at 1.15 in March from a month earlier, meaning that for every 100 people seeking jobs, there were 115 positions available, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare also said Friday in a separate report.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that the improvement in the job market was due, in part, to the number of young people seeking employment, as is often the case in spring in Japan, with school and university graduates securing employment a month before their new careers kick off in April. Endi