Japan Feb jobless rate up slightly at 2.5 percent

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's jobless rate inched up in February and the availability of jobs slipped, government data showed on Friday.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 2.5 percent from 2.4 percent in January, and compared with economists' median forecast of 2.6 percent, figures from the Internal Affairs ministry showed.

The jobs-to-applicants ratio fell to 1.58 from 1.59 in January, and compared with the median forecast of 1.60.

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A full table can be seen on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications at:

http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/roudou/index.htm

(Note: The jobs-to-applicants ratio and new job offers can be seen in Japanese on the labour ministry's website.)

(Reporting by Stanley White and Takaya Yamaguchi; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)