COEUR d'ALENE - Patience is more than a virtue, it's often a necessity for those seeking jobs in today's economy.

On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the May report from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, showing that job openings declined 96,000 to 3.2 million in May.

That means that the ratio of unemployed workers to job openings was 4.7-to-1 in May, a slight increase from the revised April ratio of 4.6-to-1, the Economic Policy Institute says.

"It is very frustrating," said Misty Thayer of Coeur d'Alene. Even with eight years of experience, she has been unable to find a job in the office/bookkeeping field she has been looking in after seven months of looking. "I can't count," the number of applications she has filled out, "to only go on two unsuccessful job interviews."

Even a part-time job took a considerable amount of time to find, said Veronica Shelton of Coeur d'Alene, who, like Thayer, was using computer stations at the Idaho Department of Labor office on Tuesday to look for another job to fill the gap in her income. But the little work she does have provides some comfort.

"It's not as real when you have a job," she said.

Getting by on student loans while attending college and looking for work, Thayer said she is considering other fields.

She will graduate this summer, with a degree that will qualify for work in medical records and related jobs. But she also realizes there is another harsh reality facing job seekers.

"There are more people looking, but not as many jobs to have," she said. "Employers are cutting wages. A job that paid $15 an hour now pays $9 because the economy is in such a crash."

In such a competitive market, she said, desperation led her to put out resumes to unknown employers.

"The most frustrating thing is Craigslist," she said. "Companies seeking employees don't disclose who they are, and there is no way to contact them to follow up."

That means a few scammers got some of the information she included in her resume, but the e-mails they send out are so blatantly transparent in their real motive she has not fallen victim to any - yet.

"Maybe 5 percent of companies provide their contact information," Thayer said.

In May, nearly half the country's unemployed workers had been unemployed for more than six months, 20 percentage points above the previous high of 26 percent, set in the summer of 1983, EPI reported.

Among those hardest hit in the job hunt are veterans.

"No doubt about it," said Robert Shoeman, veterans representative for the Department of Labor, acknowledging the limited opportunities in the job market. "There is an unprecedented number of people who are struggling."

That includes 2,200 vets looking for jobs through the Coeur d'Alene office. Many who have not been able to find employment are getting help with food, utilities and rent, some with grants from the American Legion.

Winter was tough, he said, and summer is doing little to help.