The nation's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 4.8 percent in December, unchanged from November and keeping the monthly average jobless rate for 2000 at the annual record high of 4.7 percent logged in 1999, the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry said Tuesday.
In a separate report, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said the monthly ratio of job offers to job seekers averaged 0.59 in 2000, up 0.11 point from 1999. That means there were 59 job openings for every 100 people looking.
The December ratio was 0.66, a high unseen since the same month in 1997.