FILE PHOTO: People walk at an office building at a business district in Tokyo, Japan, February 29, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s jobless rate rose and the availability of jobs dropped in January, government data showed on Friday.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.4% in January, up from 2.2% in December, figures from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed. The median forecast was 2.2%.

The jobs-to-applicants ratio fell to 1.49 in January from 1.57 in December after a change in the survey method, labor ministry data showed.