Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Japanâs unemployment rate in October unexpectedly fell for a third month, a sign that the worst may be over for the labor market. The jobless rate declined to 5.1 percent, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo. The median forecast of 26 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was 5.4 percent. The rate has been declining since reaching a postwar high of 5.7 percent in July. More than 20 trillion yen ($230 billion) in stimulus spending helped the economy expand for a second quarter in the three months ended September. Even as the government steps up measures to support workers, todayâs figures indicate that the growth spurred by exports and production is spreading through the worldâs second-largest economy. âTwo months of improvements canât tell you very much, but a third consecutive improvement paints a clear trend,â said Masamichi Adachi, senior economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Tokyo. âThe world economy is clearly recovering, which means we wonât see the kind of aggressive job cuts like before even if we still wonât see a lot of hiring either.â Household spending rose 1.6 percent from a year ago, a separate report showed. The job-to-applicant ratio, a leading indicator of employment trends, rose to 0.44, meaning there are only 44 positions for every 100 candidates, the Labor Ministry said today. The gauge plunged to a record low of 0.42 in July. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aUxL8T14jaWo&pos=3