Japan's job availability ratio for November fell 0.02 point from the previous month to 1.28, a level not seen since July last year, as persistently high prices weighed on recruitment activities in some service sectors, government data showed Tuesday.

Separate data showed the country's unemployment rate, meanwhile, stood at 2.5 percent in the reporting month, unchanged from the previous month.

The latest job-to-applicant ratio means there were 128 job openings for every 100 job seekers. The figure saw its first decline in four months, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Some companies complained that they have seen "profits squeezed by (a drop off in demand caused by) a surge in prices and are becoming unable to extend job offers," according to a labor ministry official.

Among sectors that shed job offers in November, the accommodation and food services sector fell 12.8 percent from a year earlier and the lifestyle and entertainment services sector shrank 12.5 percent. The manufacturing sector declined 10.5 percent.

"The ratio is steadily declining. In particular, many firms in regional areas are suspending their recruitment efforts" as they gave up on looking for enough workers in the face of the severe labor shortage, said Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at the Meiji Yasuda Research Institute. "However, a persistent decrease in job openings appears improbable as the majority of companies continue to face substantial labor shortages."

The number of unemployed people in November rose 1.1 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted 1.77 million people, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed.

Among them, 760,000 people voluntarily left their jobs, down 1.3 percent.

Conversely, the number of people who were laid off increased by 18.9 percent from the previous month, totaling 440,000.

In November, the number of women with jobs increased by 300,000 to 30.76 million, reaching a record high, the internal ministry said.

The number of unemployed men rose 50,000 to 1.02 million, while that of women dropped 40,000 to 750,000.

Related coverage:

Japan's June jobless rate falls to 2.5% amid ongoing COVID-19 recovery