Labor Minister Kato Katsunobu said this decline is the second steepest on record. The biggest drop yet came in January 1974 following the oil crisis.

The number of new job offers in May decreased 32.1% from last year. By industry, the figure plunged 55.9% in accommodations, eating and drinking services and 44.2% in personal services such as beauty parlors and barbers. The rate of decrease was relatively small in the construction industry and in medical and welfare services. Japan’s unemployment rate for May rose 0.3 point from the previous month to 2.9 percent, worsening for the third consecutive month.