Japan's unemployment rate ticked up to a three-year high in August, as the pandemic continued to adversely affect economic activity.

Japan's unemployment rate increased to 3 percent in August, according to government data released on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the country's unemployment rate has risen for the second month in a row. The nation jobless rate rose to 3.0 percent in August from 2.9 percent in July.

According to the  Statistics Bureau, the unemployment rate has increased by 3.1 percent compared to May 2017. A total of 2.06 million people have lost their jobs in Japan this year, rising on year by 490,000 people.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Labor, employment availability fell for the eighth consecutive month in August. This is the first time in Japan since January 2014.