Economists in a Reuters poll last week had forecast a median 5.1 percent figure. Unemployment reached a record high of 5.5 percent in January.

The Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said Friday that the number of employed people, including self-employed, fell for the third straight month, dropping by 180,000 from a year earlier to 63.37 million.
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/BUSINESS/11/27/japan.jobless.reut/index.html