Japan’s December Jobless Rate Falls as Monthly Employment Gain Hits Near 36-year High

Office workers are reflected in a glass railing as they cross a street during lunch hour in Tokyo, Japan, on June 1, 2015. Thomas Peter/Reuters

TOKYO—Japan’s jobless rate fell to 2.7 percent in December as employment posted the biggest monthly gain in nearly 36 years, government data showed on Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in December was lower than the 2.8 percent in the previous month, which was also the median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.