Japan's job market looked a little more positive in October. The jobs-to-applicants ratio was up for the first time in 10 months.

The labor ministry says there were 130 openings for every 100 people seeking work. That's an uptick of 0.01 point from September.

New job offers in the scientific research, professional and technical services sector climbed by 3 percent from a year earlier. And openings in the accommodation, eating and drinking services sector increased by 2.2 percent.

It was a different story in the manufacturing sector, where offers were down 10.6 percent. The construction sector saw a decline of 6.2 percent.

Ministry officials say employers in both sectors are being handicapped by rising raw material prices, which are limiting their budgets for new hires.

Separate figures from the internal affairs ministry show the jobless rate for October was 2.5 percent. That's an improvement for the second straight month.