29 Jan
The latest data from the Japanese government shows that the number of people out of work grew by 490 thousand in December compared with a year earlier.
The figure has risen for 11 consecutive months.
The Internal Affairs Ministry released the latest data on Friday. The number of people unemployed was over 1.9 million. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate stood at 2.9 percent, the same as the previous month.
Ministry officials say the impact from the resurgence of the coronavirus infection seems to be limited since the survey was conducted before the state of emergency was declared.
The ministry also released the jobless rate for 2020. The figure stood at 2.8 percent, up from 2.4 percent in 2019. That was the first time in 11 years that the figure has worsened from the previous year.
nhk
