Japan May jobless rate unchanged

Tokyo -- Japan's May jobless rate was the same as April's 4 percent but the number of unemployed in May jumped from a year-ago level, the government said Friday.

There were 2.7 million people without work in May, up 120,000 from the same month of last year, the biggest such increase since January 2003, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

A ministry official said both the number of those who voluntarily left their jobs and that of those let go rose during May, Kyodo news service reported.
Those holding jobs in May totaled 64.78 million, down 210,000 from the same month of last year.

The number of job offers grew 1.7 percent in May from April while that of job seekers rose 2.3 percent during that period. Another report said there were 92 jobs for every 100 job seekers in May, down from 93 to 100 in April.

The May numbers were in line with market forecasts, Kyodo said.

Kyohei Morita, chief economist at Barclays Capital Japan Ltd., said told Kyodo the declining confidence among companies in an environment of falling exports and high raw material prices will curb the demand for labor.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.