Japan’s jobless rate jumped to a record 4.3 percent in June, greeting Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi like a slap in the face on his first full day in office.
Official statistics issued Friday showed the rate had risen from 4.1 percent a month earlier, with unemployment climbing for men and women and among all age groups.
The number of openings per 100 job-seekers–another key barometer of the labor market’s health–hit a new low of 51 in June, down from 53 in May.
The figures were a chill reminder of the policy challenges facing Obuchi, who began his first full day on the job. Obuchi has named an “economic reconstruction” cabinet to try to speedily revive the world’s second-largest economy.
![At a recent wedding reception in Chicago, guests gathered to toast the newlyweds at the bar. Glasses were lined up in front of them, but no alcohol was poured. Instead, marijuana vapor was pumped into the upside-down glasses, which were then lifted and inhaled in unison. “A lot of people were surprised,” bride Aja Heinlein said. “They didn’t even know that was something they could do.” In the new world of cannabis, consumption at private events like weddings, holiday parties and corporate events is becoming more common. The state law that legalized recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ctc-L-Illinois-marijuana-wedding15_187593870.jpg?w=525 "At a recent wedding reception in Chicago, guests gathered to toast the newlyweds at the bar. Glasses were lined up in front of them, but no alcohol was poured. Instead, marijuana vapor was pumped into the upside-down glasses, which were then lifted and inhaled in unison. “A lot of people were surprised,” bride Aja Heinlein said. “They didn’t even know that was something they could do.” In the new world of cannabis, consumption at private events like weddings, holiday parties and corporate events is becoming more common. The state law that legalized recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and […]")
