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1st LD Writethru: Japan's jobless rate flat in December at 3.3 pct, job availability hits 24 yr high

Xinhua, January 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Japan's jobless rate remained flat at 3.3 percent in December, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a report on Friday, with the figure largely in line with median analysts' expectations.

The unemployment rate for males edged up 0.2 point from the previous month, the latest figures showed, to 3.7 percent, while the unemployment rate for females dropped 0.2 point to 2.9 percent in the recording period.

While the number of workers increased 0.7 percent to 64.03 million, according to the latest statistics, the government report showed that the number of unemployed people increased 2.3 percent to 2.22 million people on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said in a separate report Friday that the jobs-to-applicants ratio jumped to 1.27 in December, which means that for every 100 people seeking jobs, 127 positions were available.

The job availability to seekers ratio in December marks the best level in 24 years, as companies opened up more positions when the job market has become increasingly tight of late.

An official from the labor ministry was quoted as saying Friday that the employment situation in Japan is getting better incrementally.

"The employment situation remains on an improving trend," the labor ministry official said. Enditem