31 January
Japan's jobless rate for December was unchanged from the previous month at 2.2 percent.
The internal affairs ministry reported Friday that about 67.4 million people had jobs in December. That's an increase of 810,000 from the same month in 2018.
The number of non-regular workers, including part-timers, stood at about 21.8 million. That was an increase of 230,000.
The ministry said the number of unemployed fell about 140,000 from the same month in 2018 to about 1.45 million. That's the lowest number in 27 years.
Ministry officials said the jobless rate has been steady at just over 2 percent. They added that the employment market is continuing to improve steadily.
NHK
