Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 2.5% in February from 2.4% in January, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed March 30.

The number of unemployed people fell by 11.7% to 1.66 million in February, compared to the same period last year.

The availability of jobs slipped as the jobs-to-applicants ratio in February edged down to 1.58 from 1.59 in January, Reuters reported, citing government data.