TOKYO. Feb 1: Japan’s unemployment rate fell lasl year to 2.1 per cent, the lowest level in 10 years, while growth in the number of cm ployed was the highest in 35 years, officials said Friday, reports AP.

The average rale of unemployment during the calender year 1990 was 2.1 per cent, down 0.2 point from the year earlier, the Management and Coordination Agency said.

It said the 1990 figure was the lowest since 1980, when the average Jobless rate was 2.0 per cent.

The average number of unemployed persons In Japan in all of 1990 was 1.34 million, down by 80.000 or 5.6 per cent, from 1989. the agency said.

The number of Jobholders In 1990 increased by 1.2)'mil-llon people, or 2.0 per cent, the agency said. It was the first increase of more than 1.2 million since 1957, when the yearly increase in workers was 1.27 million, agency officials said. Japari had 62.49 million employed people last year.

Japan's Jobless rate would be higher If calculated by US or European methods. In Japan, members of the armed forces and people working more than one hour in the last week of the month arc considered employed. Japan has used this method to calculate unemployment since 1953.

The agency attributed the large growth In the work force to Japan's steady economic expansion over the last year, which opened up more Jobs.

The Bank of Japan, however. recently warned that the nation s light labor market may put the brakes on the nation's booming growth, because wage increases could result in higher prices. The economy Is now in Its 50th consecutive month of uninterrupted expansion.

Plan to ease Gulf vessels sailing

Another Reuter report adds: Japanese shipowners and unions have decided to case a ban on Japanese crewed vessels sailing to the main ports of Saudi Arabia in the Gull .■ shipowners labour relations agency official said on Thursday.

However, ships carrying Japanese crews will still be prohibited from sailing north of latitude 28.30 degrees north, which Includes Iran's main oil export base Kharg Island, he said.

The shipowners labour relations agency and the all Japan seamen's union Imposed a ban on Japanese crewed ships sailing west of longitude 52 degrees cast after the expiry of the United Nations deadline for Iraq to quit Kuwait on Jan uaiy 15.

Japanese oil companies had been urging shipping groups to end the prohibition because It has driven up shipping costs.

Some oil companies have had lo charter foreign crewed tanks to load crude from Ras Tannurah. one of Saudi Arabia's main ports In the Gull located west of longitude 52 degrees cast.