The unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent in June from the previous month's 4.4 percent, adding to signs of economic recovery after last year's earthquake and tsunami, the government said Tuesday.
The improvement in the job market for the second straight month came against market forecasts that the rate would remain flat. The result could lead to brighter economic prospects, but at the same time there are still risks. Production growth is slowing down and exports remain subdued amid the gloomy global outlook.
Employment conditions have shown "development of improvement" as more people found jobs, an official from the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said. Some analysts, however, noted that new job offers rose only moderately.