Tokyo, Jan 31: Japan's unemployment rate jumped back to a post-war high of 5.5 per cent in December as more workers bore the brunt of fading growth, piling the pressure on the prime minister ahead of a key policy speech. Other data on Friday showed deflation was keeping its stranglehold on the economy as households hit by falling wages reined in spending, hitting consumer prices.
The grim economic news came as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi prepared to give a key policy speech to parliament later in the day outlining his plans for economic recovery.

Koizumi has struggled so far to show that his policies are working, and with share prices dipping below two-decade lows on Friday, economists say there could be more bad news ahead.
"The economy will continue to struggle along, staying flat in the first and second quarters, but may fall sharply after that," said Michio Ichinohe, senior market economist at Mitsubishi Securities.
"Consumer sentiment is falling, and with uncertainty over jobs and with share prices falling, people are tending to restrain spending. People see the economy getting worse."
The government said on Friday that the jobless rate rose to 5.5 per cent in the last month of 2002 from 5.3 per cent in November, revisiting an equal post-war high hit last autumn. Bureau Report