Jobless rate in October rises to 5.2%

Japan's unemployment rate rose to 5.2 percent in October, 0.1-percentage point higher than the previous month, the government said on November 28.

The unemployment rate continues to be more than ten percent among young males between 15 and 24. Jobs for young people, including high school and college graduates, are harder to come by.

The number of unemployed is 3.43 million, down 190,000 from the previous year. Yet, it still exceeds the 3-million level and can hardly be regarded as "improved".

Behind the "decline" in the number of unemployed is the fact that more people have given up looking for jobs, and that has led to a 650,000-increase in the population of non-workers.

The survey shows that the noticeable tendency is that unemployment durations are getting longer, with 34.3 percent of the unemployed out of work for more than a year. (end)