JAPAN

Unemployment Situation Worsens: The number of positions available for a larger number of job-seekers fell in June to the lowest level in more than seven years. Japan’s unemployment rate rose to 2.9% from 2.8% in May and 2.5% a year earlier, the government’s Management and Coordination Agency said. The closely watched jobs-to-applicants ratio fell to 63 in June from 64 in May, the Labor Ministry said. The figure means that there were only 63 job offers for every 100 applicants at government job placement offices. The jobs-to-applicants ratio stood at 62 in February, 1987.