Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stayed at a nearly nine-year low of 4.0 percent in February for the fourth straight month, the government said Friday.

The number of jobless people fell by 70,000 from a year earlier to 2.70 million in the reporting month, down for the 15th month in a row, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a preliminary report.

The headline figure matched the average market projection.