— Japan Sep Jobless Rate MNI Survey Median Forecast: 4.4%
— Japan Sep Employment -330,000 Y/Y Vs Aug -290,000
— Japan Sep Employment Posts 3rd Y/Y Drop In Row

TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s national average unemployment rate fell
further to 4.1% in September from 4.3% in August as the number of
employed increased from the previous month, data from the Ministry of
Internal Affairs and Communications showed Friday.

The unemployment rate of 4.1% in September was the lowest level
since November 2008, when it stood at 4.0%.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September came in
lower than the median forecast of 4.4% in a survey of economists by
Market News International.

Effective with September data, the government released the national
average unemployment rate based on figures from all the 47 prefectures,
including earthquake-hit areas that were previously excluded from the
data.

In September, the number of payroll jobs stood at a seasonally
adjusted 62.46 million, up from 59.43 million in August.

The adjusted number of unemployed fell by 30,000 to 2.67 million in
September, the second consecutive m/m drop.

Looking at the longer-term trend, the unadjusted number of employed
people fell by 330,000 to 62.76 million in September from a year
earlier, posting the third consecutive year-on-year fall.

The unadjusted number of jobless workers was down by 650,000 in
September at 2.75 million, marking the 16th straight year-on-year
decline.

The data also showed that the number of those who lost their jobs
and were looking for work continued to fall from year-earlier levels in
September and the number of people who quit their job voluntarily to
look for other openings marked the second consecutive y/y drop.

The government compiled employment and unemployment data from March
to August without records from the Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima
prefectures, the hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami that wrecked
the northeastern Pacific coast.

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

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