It is becoming increasingly clear that the economy is sinking deeper. Domestic sales of new vehicles in November plunged 27.3 percent from a year earlier. The U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research found that the U.S. recession had started in December 2007. As the U.S. and European economies are unlikely to recover in a short time, Japanese export-oriented companies will suffer. The employment situation is worsening, especially for temporary workers.
The ratio of registered job openings to registered job applications in October dipped by 0.04 point from the previous month to 0.8, the lowest since May 2004. Although the unemployment rate dropped 0.3 point from September to 3.7 percent in October, it is believed that there was no tangible improvement in the employment markets, since many people reportedly gave up looking for jobs.
The industrial production index for October declined 3.1 percent from September. The index for November is expected to see a 6.4 percent drop, the largest fall since the current system for taking statistics started in May 1973.