The number of job offers to job seekers hit a postwar low in September, dropping to 0.49 from 0.50 in August, the Labor Ministry said Tuesday.With only 49 job offers for every 100 people looking for work, the seasonally adjusted ratio gauging labor demand continues a steady decline that began when the ratio fell below 1 in 1993 for the first time in half a dozen years.The number of unemployed in September surged 25 percent from a year earlier to 2.95 million, but the figure was lower than the 2.97 million registered in August -- a national record.Nonetheless, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in September remained unchanged from August at 4.3 percent, a postwar high, the Management and Coordination Agency said in a separate report.The rate for men between the ages of 25 and 34 reached a postwar high 4.6 percent while that for women over the same range stayed at the record high level of 7 percent, according to the agency.Jobholders dropped for the eighth consecutive month, dipping 1.1 percent to 65.26 million. Male jobholders numbered 38.54 million, down 0.9 percent, while female jobholders numbered 26.72 million, down 1.3 percent.
