The unemployment rate fell to a 24-year low in November as companies were increasingly short on labor while frugal consumers stepped up spending more than expected, government data showed Tuesday in the latest indication that economy is strengthening.

Different data released at the same time showed core consumer prices rose for the 11th straight month, offering some relief to policymakers hoping that inflation will accelerate toward the Bank of Japan's elusive 2 percent target. The gain, however, was largely driven by energy costs.

The latest batch of data confirms that the job market continued to tighten as the economy expanded for the seventh straight quarter in July-September. However, five years after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned to power with a pledge to pull the economy out of deflation, inflation remains stubbornly weak as economists point to lukewarm wage growth.