Japan's January jobless rate rises to 2.7% as payrolls shrink

Japan's unemployment rate in January rose to 2.7 per cent from 2.6 per cent in the previ- ‘ous month, climbing for the first time in five months, government data showed Tuesday.

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The number of people with jobs edged down 0.4 per cent to a seasonally adjusted 68.17 million, dropping for the first time in five months, while those without jobs rose 3.2 per cent to 1.91 million, marking a second straight month of increase, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

The job availability ratio edged down 0.02 point from December to 1.18 in January, meaning there were 118 jobs available for every 100 job seekers, marking the first decline in three months.

Meanwhile Japanese government bond (JGB) yields jumped across the board on Tuesday, as concerns that a prolonged US-Israeli war against Iran would stoke inflation via higher energy prices fuelled bets of an interest rate hike.

The 20-year yield went up 7.5 basis points (bps) to 2.955 per cent.

The benchmark IO-year JGB yield rose 7 bps to 2.13 per cent, with a relatively neutral outcome at an auction for notes of the same maturity having little impact.

“Fears of inflation stoked expectations for the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike, while a jump in overseas yields weighed on market sentiment,” said Miki Den, a senior Japan rate strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities.