Tokyo, Jan 29 (DPA) The Japanese jobless rate fell to 5.1 percent in December from 5.2 percent in November, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Friday.
The unemployment rate for 2009 averaged 5.1 percent, up 1 percent from that of 2008 and the highest for a calendar year since 2003’s 5.3 percent.
The ranks of the unemployed rose to 3.17 million people in December, up 470,000 in the same month a year earlier, the ministry said.
The country’s average ratio of job offers to job seekers dropped to a record low of 0.47 in 2009, from 0.88 in 2008, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said. The ratio means there were 47 job offers for every 100 job applicants. In December, the ratio stood at 0.46, compared with 0.45 in November.
