— Japan June SA Jobs +40,000 M/M (+0.1%) Vs May -240,000
— Japan June SA Unemployed +70,000 M/M (+2.1%) Vs May +10,000
— Japan June NSA Jobs -200,000 Y/Y, 29th Drop In Row; May -470,000
— Japan June NSA Unemployed -40,000 Y/Y Vs Flat In May
— Japan June Job Offers-To-Seekers Ratio 0.52 Vs May 0.50

TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s unemployment rate rose to 5.3% in June from
5.2% in May, as the number of the unemployed rose from the previous
month, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
showed Friday.

But the data also showed that the number of unemployed people fell
when compared with a year earlier, the first drop in 20 months,
indicating that the labor market is slowly catching up with the recovery
in production and exports.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June came in higher
than the consensus call for a 5.1% reading.

The June jobless rate was below the record high of 5.6% hit in July
2009, but was still higher than the 4.2% rate seen at the start of 2009.

In June, the number of unemployed rose by a seasonally adjusted
70,000 from the previous month, or 2.1%, to 3.47 million, compared with
a rise of 10,000 in May.

The number of payroll jobs rose by a seasonally adjusted 40,000
month-on-month, or 0.1%, to 62.25 million, after falling 240,000 m/m in
May.

On an unadjusted basis, the number of employed people posted the
29th straight year-on-year drop in June, down by 200,000 (-0.3%) y/y to
62.80 million. But the pace of decline decelerated from the drop of
470,000 (-0.7%) in May, reflecting easing severity of labor conditions.

The unadjusted number of jobless workers was down 40,000 from a
year earlier at 3.44 million in June, the first drop in 20 months, after
being unchanged y/y in May and rising by 100,000 in April.

Job losses remained largely in construction, manufacturing and
wholesale and retail trade. The pace of decline in manufacturing
decelerated from the previous month but job cuts in the construction as
well as wholesale and retail trade accelerated.

Job losses in personal and amusement services as well as education
and learning support decreased.

Information and communications, transport and postal activities as
well as medical, health care and welfare continued to create jobs.

The Japanese economy has moved out of the sharp contraction seen
early last year, but the jobless rate is a lagging indicator that
typically follows economic movements after a delay of several months.

The Bank of Japan has said that the employment and income situation
has remained severe but that the degree of severity has eased somewhat.

Other details of the report follow:

The number of those who lost their jobs and were looking for work:
June -200,000 y/y at 1.01 million vs. May -70,000, also a sign of
improving labor conditions.

The number of people who quit their job voluntarily to look for
other openings: June +80,000 y/y at 1.05 million vs. May +10,000,
indicating people are more confident about job offer prospects.

Separately, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said that the
ratio of job offers to job seekers at government placement offices stood
at a seasonally adjusted 0.52 in June, up from 0.50 in May. That means
there were only 52 job offers for every 100 people looking for work but
it was better than the month before.

tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4833 **

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