ASIA

Japan’s Unemployment Hits 7-Year High: The jobless rate hit a post-World War II high of 3.17% in June, the government said. The total number of unemployed in Japan increased to 2.12 million people, up from 2.04 million in May. The previous high rate of 3.16% was recorded in March, the statistics bureau of the Management and Coordination Agency reported. Unlike other countries, members of the military and anyone who has worked for at least one hour in the last week of the month are counted as employed in Japan. Also Friday, the Labor Ministry reported the ratio of job offers to job-seekers, an indicator of labor demand, fell from 0.63 in May to 0.61 in June. That means there are 61 jobs for every 100 job-seekers.