Japan"s unemployment rose unexpectedly in November, while prices and wages continued to fall, AP quoted the government as saying Friday. The unemployment rate climbed to 5.2 percent, reversing an improvement to 5.1 percent in October. The result marks the first increase in four months and misses Kyodo News agency"s average market forecast of 5.2 percent. The number of jobless rose more than 29 percent from a year earlier to 3.3 million, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The number of employed people declined 2 percent to 62.6 million. Deflation also deepened, the ministry said in a separate report, with core consumer prices down 1.7 percent from a year earlier. The key consumer prices index, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, has now fallen for nine straight months. The reading matches Kyodo"s market forecast. Core CPI for the Tokyo area, seen as a barometer of price trends nationwide, retreated 1.9 percent in December. The government also said the average monthly income per household fell 0.3 percent from a year earlier. Household spending during the month, however, managed to rise 2.2 percent in November last year.
