Japan's seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to 5.5 percent in October after remaining at 5.4 percent for five straight months, matching the record high posted last December, the government said Friday in a preliminary report.

The number of unemployed rose by 100,000 from a year earlier to 3.62 million, increasing for the 19th straight month, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said.

The government tried to downplay the jobless rate's first rise in six months.