Japan's jobless rate fell to 4.4 percent in April, the lowest mark in more than six years, the government said Tuesday.

The April rate was down slightly from the 4.5 percent in March. The result was also better than the 4.5 percent jobless rate predicted by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

The steady decline in unemployment suggested that Japan's labor market has rebounded along with the nation's economy, despite some fluctuations in the rates over the past year.

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said the decline reflected a steady recovery in the nation's economy. "Overall, the economy remains in a firm recovery."

The April jobless rate was the lowest for the world's second-largest economy since December 1998, when the rate was also at 4.4 percent.

The total number of unemployed fell for the 23rd straight month to 3.1 million, down 250,000 from the same month a year earlier, the Ministry of Public Management said.

Before falling to 4.5 percent in March, Japan's unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent in February, and 4.5 percent in January and December.

The ratio of new job offers to new job seekers, adjusted for seasonal factors, rose to 1.42 in April from 1.35 a month earlier.

This means there were 142 new jobs for every 100 people newly seeking work in April. There were 94 jobs offered for every 100 workers seeking employment in April.

(Xinhua)

unemployment: the state of being unemployed or not having a job（失業）

ratio : the relative magnitudes of two quantities（比例）