Jobless Rate In June Rises To 5.3%

TOKYO (Kyodo)--Japan's seasonally adjusted jobless rate in June rose to 5.3 percent, up 0.1 point from 5.2 percent the previous month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Friday.

''We need to remain vigilant (about labor conditions),'' a ministry official aid.

The monthly figure was worse than the 5.2 percent projected on average by economists surveyed by Kyodo News.

Job availability improved in June, as the ratio of job offers to job seekers rose to 0.52 from the previous month's 0.50, according to a separate report released the same day by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

The result means 52 jobs were available for every 100 job seekers in June.

Japan's jobless rate hit an all-time high of 5.6 percent in July last year. It fell below 5.0 percent in January for the first time in 10 months, before rising back above the line in March.

The number of jobless people stood at 3.44 million, down 40,000 from a year before, the internal affairs ministry said in a preliminary report.

Both the manufacturing and construction sectors continued to be sluggish, as manufacturing payrolls fell by 160,000, while the construction sector shed 190,000 jobs.

The medical and social welfare services sectors remained steady, with payrolls up 240,000.

The jobless rate for men in June was 5.6 percent, up 0.1 point, while that for women was 4.9 percent, up 0.2 point.