Japan’s unemployment rate came in at 2.5 percent in April, unchanged from the previous month as many sectors continue to face worker shortages, government data showed Friday.

The number of employed individuals decreased by 40,000, or 0.1 percent, to a seasonally adjusted 68.04 million in April, marking the third consecutive monthly decline, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed.

Meanwhile, the number of unemployed people increased 30,000, or 1.7 percent, to 1.76 million, up for the second consecutive month.

Separate data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed Japan’s nationwide job availability ratio was also unchanged from March at 1.26 in April, meaning there were 126 jobs available for every 100 jobseekers.

New job offers in information and communication climbed 9.0 percent from a year earlier, followed by services with an 8.3 percent increase, while those in the lifestyle and entertainment services sector went down 4.4 percent.