The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.6 percent in May, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday.
That was higher than forecasts for 2.5 percent, which would have been unchanged from the April reading.
The job-to-applicant ratio was 1.24, in line with forecasts and up from 1.23 in the previous month.
The participation rate was 62.7 percent in May, up from 62.6 percent in April.
