TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent in August from 4.0 percent in July, adding to fears of a recession in Asia's biggest economy, official figures showed Tuesday.
The figure was worse than average market forecasts for a jobless rate of 4.1 percent.
The unemployment rate for men rose to 4.3 percent from 4.0 percent while the rate for women stayed flat at 3.9 percent, figures from the internal affairs ministry showed.
The number of unemployed people increased by 230,000 from a year earlier to a total of 2.72 million.
The labour ministry said in a separate report that there were only 86 job opportunities for every 100 job seekers. It was the ninth straight month that the number of job hunters exceeded the number of job offers.
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