TOKYO, June 30: Japan’s unemployment rate fell to 4.4 per cent in May, edging down from 4.6 per cent the previous month, the internal affairs ministry said on Friday, while household spending jumped from a year ago.

The official jobless figure was lower than a market forecast for a rate of 4.5 per cent, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Other data showed that Japan’s household spending rose 4.0 per cent year-on-year in May, well above expectations of a 2.3pc rise.

The ministry also released consumer price figures showing inflation stood at minus 0.1 per cent year-on-year in May, the first price decrease since January.—AFP