A140 I Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.5% in June 2002, which was the highest rate since records were first kept in 1953. On a monthly basis, the same rates were recorded for August 2002 and April 2003, but subsequently the ratio gradually fell. In July 2007, the preliminary figure was 3.6%. The correct answer is (b). A ratio of 3.6% is low when compared to other major countries' rates, but since Japan has long had extremely low unemployment, 3.6% is still high from a Japanese perspective. From the 1950s until 1993, unemployment rates typically fluctuated berween 1.0% and 2.9%, the rate hardly ever exceeding 3.0%.