The unemployment rate in Japan increased in February by 0.1 percentage point from a month earlier to a seasonally-adjusted 3.3 percent, with the rate marking a rise for the first time in three months, the government said in a report on Tuesday.
According to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, the number of employed persons in February stood at 63.51 million, an increase of 290,000 or 0.5 percent from the previous year. The number of unemployed persons in the recording period, however, stood at 2.13 million, a decrease of 130,000 or 5.8 percent from the previous year, not taking into account seasonal factors.
The statistics bureau also said in its preliminary report that the unemployment rate for men increased 0.2 percentage point from the previous month to 3.6 percent, while that for women declined 0. 1 point to 2.8 percent. People leaving jobs of their own volition rose 3.5 percent to 880,000 on a seasonally-adjusted basis, the bureau also said.
Separate data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed that the nation's job availability situation remained constant with a month earlier at 1.28, meaning that for every 100 people looking for work there were 128 available positions.
The statistics bureau also said separately Tuesday in its latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey that the average monthly consumption expenditures per household for February was 269,774 yen (2,379 U.S. dollars), up 1.6 percent in nominal terms and up 1.2 percent in real terms from the previous year.
In terms of income and expenditure for workers' households, meanwhile, the latest data showed that the average monthly income per household stood at 478,624 yen (4,216 U.S. dollars), down 2.0 percent in nominal terms and down 2.4 percent in real terms from the previous year.
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