The ratio of job offers to seekers in Japan edged up in January. But while the labor market remains tight, officials say they are keeping a close eye on how rising costs impact hiring trends in the year ahead.



The labor ministry says there were an average of 126 job openings for every 100 applicants, up from 125 in December.



Ministry officials say businesses faced with labor shortages are boosting hiring. At the same time though, rising costs are forcing some companies to give up on employing new workers.



Separate data from the internal affairs ministry show that nationwide unemployment rate was 2.5 percent in January. That's unchanged from the previous month.



The number of people employed came to nearly 68 million, up 650,000 from a year earlier.



The number for those out of employment stood at over 1.6 million, the same as January last year.