REPORTS: JAPAN JOBLESS RATE 4.8% BUT EMPLOYED UP. Unemployment in December was unchanged on the month at 4.8%, just under the 4.9% record hit first in February, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications reported. In 2000, the number of unemployed rose to a record 3.2 million, with an average unemployment rate of 4.7%. However, in December the number of those in work, including the self-employed, rose 0.2% on the year to 64.40 million, the third consecutive monthly gain as new jobs offers -- reported by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare -- rose 27.1% on the year. The job offers-to-applicants ratio rose 0.66.