Japan - The unemployment rate for Japan has hit a four-year high of 4.8% in March as job opportunities dropped to a new low in almost seven years.

The jobless rate recorded in March was the highest since August 2004, when it was also 4.8%. The figure had risen from 4.4% in February, which was also the highest in three years. Worryingly, according to the government data, the country's labour market is showing no signs of improvement.

Other than unemployment figures exceeding the median market forecast for March of 4.6%, Reuters said jobs-to-applicants ratio also fell to 0.52. This means there were only 52 jobs for every 100 applicants. The market's median forecast was for a ratio of 0.55.

The number of new job offers had fallen to 22.3% in March from a year earlier, after a 30.1% drop in February from a year earlier. Total number of unemployed is now 3.35 million, a 25% jump from a year earlier.