Pyongyang, December 2 (KCNA) -- Japan's unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent in October from 4.1 percent in September for the first deterioration in three months, reflecting the poor employment conditions persisting in the country.

The number of the unemployed was up by 250,000, or 9.4 percent, to 2.92 million, according to an official at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.