Japan's jobless rate rises to 2.6% in February

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's jobless rate rose to 2.6% in February, while the availability of jobs slipped from the previous month's 2.4%, government data showed on Friday.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was higher than a median forecast of 2.4% in a Reuters poll of economists.

The jobs-to-applicants ratio fell to 1.34, lower than a median forecast of 1.36 in the poll, labour ministry data showed.

For a table on the jobless data, go to the internal affairs ministry's website:

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

(Reporting by Kentaro Sugiyama)