Japan unemployment rate steady at 3.6%

Japan’s jobless rate was flat at 3.6% in March from theprevious month, while job availability improved for the 16th straight month as arecovery in corporate profits has prodded many companies to boost theiremployment, government data showed Friday.The ratio of employment offers to seekers climbed to 1.07 in the reporting month from 1.05 in February, which means 107 positions were available for every 100 jobseekers, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Kyodo news agencyreported.The number of unemployed people rose a seasonally adjusted 1.3% from February to2.36 million, as those quitting jobs voluntarily climbed 1.1% to 910,000, the Ministryof Internal Affairs and Communications said in a preliminary report.