Job-offers ratio drops to record low.

The ratio of job offers to job seekers sank to a record low in May, as the unemployment rate climbed for the fourth straight month--and the government expects the situation to worsen further.
Although corporate production has shown signs of recovery in some fields, the job market has deteriorated at such a pace that the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare revised downward its assessment.

"The severity of the (employment) situation is increasing further," the ministry said Tuesday.
The ratio of job offers to job seekers in May dropped by 0.02 point from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted 0.44, meaning there were only 44 jobs available for every 100 job seekers.
It was the lowest level since the labor ministry began compiling the statistics in 1963.

The ratio of job offers for full-time positions was a record low 0.24, meaning that more than four people competed for one job.

The ratio of new job offers to new job seekers stood at a seasonally adjusted 0.75 in May. It was also the lowest ratio recorded.

Although the number of new job seekers decreased 2.7 percent from the previous month for the third straight decline, the number of new job offers also fell 4.9 percent, the fifth consecutive monthly drop.