TOKYO, March 29: Japan’s jobless rate fell to 5.2 per cent in February but officials and economists Friday maintained their cautious outlook with the economy only showing weak signs of recovery.

The employment situation continues to be severe, Economic and Financial Affairs Minister Heizo Takenaka told reporters. It is important to create jobs by reviving the economy.

Labour Minister Chikara Sakaguchi struck an equally cautious note.

Just by looking at the February figures alone, we cannot say the employment situation has improved, Sakaguchi said.

February’s overall jobless rate fell from a record high of 5.5 per cent in January, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said.

The unemployment rate for men stood at 5.5 per cent, down 0.1 per cent from the previous month, and the rate for women fell 0.6 per cent to 4.9 per cent, it said.

The number of people out of work fell to 3.49 million in February, down 70,000 from a year earlier, the ministry said.

Takenaka cautioned the Japanese economy might come under further downward pressure if the war in Iraq were to last for a long time.

It is very difficult to predict the outlook for the war but if it lasts long, there will be an impact on the Japanese economy, he added.

Despite the lower jobless rate, the ministry also issued other data showing falls in household spending and prices.

Salaried household spending in February fell 1.6 percent from a year earlier after falling 2.0 per cent in January, the ministry said.

Japanese consumer prices in February fell 0.2 per cent from a year earlier, following a 0.4 per cent decline in January, the ministry added.

The decline in the jobless rate came as the nation’s troubled manufacturing and retail sectors came closer to finishing their restructuring, said Masashi Murata, economist at UFJ Institute.

People are only counted as unemployed if they are actively searching for new jobs.—AFP