The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose for the first time in four months to 5.2 percent in November from 5.1 percent in the previous month as slumps in the retail and wholesale sectors due to deflation caused added job woes, the government said Friday.
But the result, which matched the average projection by economists Kyodo News surveyed, was still below the postwar record of 5.7 percent registered in July.
Amid a recovery in exports, manufacturers have put in robust performances and the trend has in turn amounted to brighter prospects for employment figures, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.