Japan's jobless rate remains at 2.5 pct in November

TOKYO, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Japan's unemployment rate came in at 2.5 percent in November, unchanged from the previous month, government data showed Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the number of unemployed people in the reporting month increased 40,000 from the same period last year to 1.69 million.

Among them, 440,000 people were dismissed, up 18.9 percent from the previous month, while 760,000 people left their jobs voluntarily, down 1.3 percent, the ministry added.

Separately, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Japan's job availability ratio for November fell 0.02 points from the previous month to 1.28, marking its first decline in four months.

The ratio equates to there being 128 job openings for every 100 job seekers.

The latest drop was attributed to more companies becoming cautious about posting job openings as persistently high material prices weighed on their earnings, the ministry said.