Japan's jobless rate rises to 3.1 pct, household spending drops for 9th straight month

Japan's jobless rate rose to 3.1 percent in November, up 0.1 percent from a month earlier, although job availability improved in the period, government data showed Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the jobless rate came in marginally higher than median market forecasts for a reading of 3.0 percent, which would have reflected the previous month's figure.

The ministry said that the unemployment rate for males stood at 3.2 percent in the recording period, which was unchanged from last month, while that for females came in at 2.9 percent, which is a 0.2 percent increase from a month earlier.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis the total number of unemployed people in Japan stood at 2.05 million, a rise of 4.1 percent or equivalent to 80,000 people, the ministry's data showed. The number of workers, meanwhile, dropped to 64.44 million, the government said, which is a decline of 0.2 percent, equal to 110,000 people.

Those leaving their jobs of their own volition in the recording period stood at 860,000 on a seasonally-adjusted basis, an increase of 30,000 people and equal to a rise of 3.6 percent, the government's data also showed.

Meanwhile, separate data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed Tuesday that the jobs-to-applicants ratio rose to 1.41 in November from 1.40 in the previous month, reaching the highest level since July 1991 and in line with median market estimates.

The ministry's data also showed that household spending fell for the ninth consecutive month in November, dropping a seasonally-adjusted 1.5 percent in the recording month from a month earlier, to 270,848 yen (2,312 U.S. dollars).

Household spending is a key indicator used by the government and economists to gauge private consumption. Enditem