Japan's June Unemployment Rate jumped to its highest level in six years by 0.2 percentage points to 5.4%. Expectations had called for a slightly more optimistic jobless picture - an increase in the rate of unemployed to only 5.3%. Along with this came a shrinking Job-to-Applicant ratio, which fell to its lowest level since data for the metric began being recorded. Not surprisingly, the rate at which the labor force that sought jobs this month continued to decline. The 60.2% who are still looking for jobs will have a tough time in doing so for the foreseeable future after Retail Sales plummeted far worse than had been expected in the month. A lack of consumer activism may only further lead the slide in the Japanese economy.
