Tokyo  - Japan's jobless rate hit a 10-year low at 3.8 per cent in the past fiscal year, which ended in March, the government said Wednesday.

The 2007 unemployment rate was better than the rate in the previous fiscal year of 4.1 per cent.

A record number of people were employed in fiscal 2007 at 55.23 million, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. For every 100 job seekers, there were
102 jobs available.

In March alone, the nation's unemployment rate stayed at 3.8 per cent, down from 3.9 per cent in February.

About 2.68 million people were jobless in the reporting month, down 130,000 from the same month a year before.

Japan's household spending in March fell for the first time in four months to 312,565 yen (3,000 dollars), down a real 1.6 per cent from the same month a year before.

Meanwhile, the average income of wage-earning households increased 0.6 per cent to 453,482 yen. Their spending shrank 0.2 per cent to 342,868 yen.

The reduction on expenditures was mainly on automobiles, house renovations and educational services, the ministry said.

Household spending is a key indicator of private consumption, which accounts for about 55 per cent of Japan's gross domestic product. (dpa)