Japan Unemployment Rate 4.9% In January
Japan's unemployment rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 4.9 percent in January, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Tuesday, beating expectations for a steady performance after showing 5.1 percent in December.
The number of employed persons in January was 62.13 million, a decrease of 790 thousand or 1.3 percent from the previous year.
The number of unemployed persons in January was 3.23 million, an increase of 460 thousand or 16.6 percent from the previous year.
Commenting on the data at a regularly scheduled press conference, Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan said the numbers show that the labor market is "improving somewhat."
The job-to-applicant ratio was unchanged at 0.46, falling shy of expectations for a mark of 0.47.
Also, household spending was weaker than expected in January, adding just 1.7 percent on year versus expectations for a 2.5 percent gain after climbing an annual 2.1 percent in December.
The propensity to consume was up 1.7 points on year to 88.8 percent.
Also on Tuesday, the Bank of Japan said that the monetary base in Japan was up 2.2 percent on year in February to 95.69 trillion yen, after adding an annual 4.9 percent in January.
Banknotes in circulation were up 0.1 percent, while coins in circulation shed 0.7 percent.
The current account balance jumped an annual 15.3 percent to 1.48 trillion yen, including a 15.7 percent surge in reserve balances.
Seasonally adjusted, the monetary base was down 16.8 percent to 94.97 trillion yen.
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