Alarmed by the nation's rising unemployment rate, the government on Friday set a goal of creating 770,000 jobs in four sectors during the next two years.

At the sixth meeting of a government task force on improving the nation's industrial structure and employment, members also agreed to promote deregulation.

The task force, headed by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and comprising all Cabinet ministers, is trying to deal with an unemployment rate that in January remained at a record-high 4.4 percent.