Japan's jobless rate rises to 2.9% in July

Japan's jobless rate rose while the availability of jobs declined in July, government data showed on Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.9% in July, up from 2.8% in June, figures from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed. The median forecast was 3.0%.

The jobs-to-applicants ratio slipped for the seventh straight month in July, falling to 1.08 from the previous month's 1.11 to mark the lowest reading since April 2014, labour ministry data showed. The reading matched the median forecast.