The ratio of open jobs to applicants² in Japan hit a 43-year high in May, as labour shortages in the world’s third-largest economy become ever more extreme.

日本的劳动力短缺变得愈发极端，今年5月，这个全球第三大经济体的空缺岗位与求职人数之比达到43年来的最高水平。

The closely watched indicator³ of Japan’s market rose 0.01 points to a reading of 1.49, the highest since February 1974, as companies struggle to fill positions from an ageing and shrinking workforce⁴. The indicator covers all jobs, permanent and temporary.

这一受到密切关注的日本市场指标的读数上升了0.01，达到1.49，是1974年2月以来的最高水平。日趋老龄化和不断萎缩的劳动力人口，令企业很难招到人手填补空缺的岗位。该指标涵盖了所有工作岗位，既包括永久性岗位，也包括临时性岗位。

A raft of new data suggest Japan’s economy is growing steadily⁵ and running at close to full capacity. But there is no sign of upward pressure on prices, meaning that the Bank of Japan will struggle to hit its 2 per cent inflation target.

大批新出炉的数据暗示，日本经济正在稳定增长，接近于以满负荷的水平运行。不过，没迹象表明物价面临上行压力，这意味着日本央行(BoJ)将很难实现其2%的通胀目标。

Following last month’s milestone⁶ when the jobs-to-applicants ratio exceeded its peak from the 1990 bubble, another landmark⁷ is close, as the jobs-to-applicants ratio for regular, full-time⁸ workers rose to a high of 0.99.

上月，日本工作岗位与申请人数之比超过了1990年泡沫期间的峰值。就在达到这一里程碑之后，另一个里程碑也在逼近，因为常规全职工作岗位与求职人数之比攀升至0.99的高点。

That implies there will soon be a full-time position with benefits and some job security for every applicant¹ — a transformation⁹ in the Japanese labour market, which for decades has been marked by a steady increase in insecure contract and part-time work, with fewer “jobs for life”.

这意味着对每名求职者来说，不用花多少时间就能找到一个带有福利和一定工作保障的全职岗位，这是日本就业市场的一大转变。不稳定的合同工作和兼职工作稳步增长以及“终身工作岗位”减少，是几十年来日本就业市场的特色。

The rise in regular positions suggests companies are responding to labour shortages by improving conditions for workers rather than increasing pay.

常规工作岗位的增加意味着，企业正通过改善工作条件而不是提高报酬的方法，来应对劳动力短缺。

However, the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose 0.3 percentage points month-on-month, from 2.8 per cent to 3.1 per cent. The rise reflected an increase of 220,000 in the measured size of the labour force combined with a 30,000 fall in employment.

不过，日本失业率出人意料地从2.8%升至3.1%，环比上升了0.3个百分点。这是因为在劳动力测算规模增加22万人的同时，招聘人数减少了3万。