Japan's unemployment rate remained unchanged at the lowest level since 1994 and retail sales advanced unexpectedly in April, official data cited by rttnews showed.

The jobless rate held steady at 2.8 percent in April, the lowest since June 1994, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The rate also came in line with expectations.

The jobs-to-applicants ratio came in at 1.48 in April versus 1.45 in March. This was the highest since 1974 and marginally above the expected level of 1.46.

Meanwhile, another data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed that household spending decreased 1.4 percent from a year ago compared to the forecast of 0.9 percent drop.