Japan's unemployment rate increases 2.6 pct in February

TOKYO, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Japan's unemployment rate increased in February from a month earlier, the government said in a report on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the jobless rate here rose 2.6 percent in February from 2.4 percent in January.

Separately, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said the job availability ratio dropped 0.01 point to 1.34.

This equates to there being 134 job openings for every 100 people seeking work.