Japan July jobless rate rises to 4.7 pct

TOKYO Aug 30 (Reuters) - Japan's jobless rate rose in July but the availability of jobs improved, suggesting the job market recovery following the March earthquake and tsunami remains patchy.

The jobs data excluded the three prefecturers -- Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima -- that were hit hardest by the natural disaster.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.7 percent from 4.6 percent in June, and compared with economists' median forecast of 4.6 percent, figures from the Internal Affairs ministry showed on Tuesday.

The jobs-to-applicants ratio rose to 0.64 from 0.63 in June, matching the median forecast.

The number of new job offers rose 4.0 percent in July from the previous month and was up 12.2 percent from a year ago. (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Edmund Klamann)