Japan’s unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point from a month ago to 2.5% in November, according to official data released on Tuesday. The figure was in line with the market forecast, marking the lowest reading since February 2020. On an annual basis, the number of jobless people decreased for the 17th straight month, falling by 180,000 to 1.65 million in November, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said. Employment was up by 280,000 year-on-year to 67.2 million. The job availability ratio remained unchanged at 1.35 in November, still at the highest level since March 2020. In a separate statement, the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry revealed an unexpected annual decline of 1.4% in housing starts last month. Following October’s 1.8% decline, the market forecast for November was a rise of 1.5%.