TOKYO, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Japan's unemployment rate in January rose to 2.7 percent from 2.6 percent in the previous month, up for the first time in five months, government data showed Tuesday.
The number of employed individuals edged down 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted 68.17 million, falling for the first time in five months, while those without jobs grew 3.2 percent to 1.91 million, rising for the second straight month, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Of those unemployed, 820,000 people left their jobs voluntarily, typically to seek improved conditions, up 7.9 percent, while 450,000 were dismissed, unchanged from December, the ministry said.
Separate data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed Japan's average job availability ratio decreased 0.02 point from December to 1.18, meaning there were 118 job openings for every 100 job seekers, marking the first decline in three months. ■
