The total number of unemployed people rose by about one million from a year earlier to 3.59 million as companies slashed costs to cope with the worst recession in decades.

Official figures last week showed the world's second largest economy grew in April-June for the first time in five quarters, limping out of recession, but many ordinary people say they are not feeling the recovery.

Japanese companies are also struggling. Toyota Motor said Friday it was abandoning a plant in California that it jointly owned with General Motors -- the first time the Japanese firm has ever pulled the plug on a factory.

The overall economic picture in Japan remains weak," Societe Generale analysts wrote in a research note. "We expect unemployment to continue rising through the third quarter of this year before any real recovery occurs.

There are also fears that the economy could stumble again as the effects of the government's massive economic stimulus packages fade.

Consumer spending remains weak in Japan, leaving the economy highly dependent on exports. Household spending fell 2.0 percent in July from a year earlier, sharply reversing a 0.2 percent rise in June, data showed.

"The recent growth was mainly due to government spending and was not a self-sustaining recovery in the Japanese economy," said Hiroshi Watanabe, economist at Daiwa Institute of Research.

We're unlikely to see a swift recovery for the time being.