Japan's unemployment rate rises to 2.5% after five months

Japan's unemployment rate rose to about 2.5 percent in August, the first increase in five months.

According to data released Friday by the Japanese government, the rate stood at about 2.4 percent in July.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said the number of employed people rose by about 30,000 from the previous month to reach nearly 68.34 million after seasonal adjustment.

Among those who left jobs, about 810,000 did so voluntarily. The ministry said the number of people quitting in search of better jobs rose about 8 percent compared with July.

The number of people who lost jobs due to employer-led reasons reached nearly 400,000, up about 5.3 percent from the previous month. The number of people newly seeking jobs also rose about 2.2 percent, to nearly 460,000.

According to separate data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, there were about 118 job openings for every 100 jobseekers in August, unchanged from July.

Job opportunities fell in 8 of 11 sectors. Hotels and restaurants saw a decline of about 11.1 percent, and wholesale and retail trade fell about 10.2 percent. Manufacturing, however, rose about 3.9 percent, and information and communications rose about 3.3 percent.

According to Nepal Rastra Bank's latest rate, 10 Japanese yen is worth 9.71 rupees (buying) and 9.75 rupees (selling).