Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4.9 percent in January from a revised 5.2 percent the previous month, amid some signs of an economic recovery, government data showed March 2.

This is the first time that the rate has slipped below the 5 percent level since March last year.

But the number of jobless people rose 460,000 from a year earlier to 3.23 million for the 15th straight monthly expansion, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a preliminary report.