New graduate hiring in Japan expected to recover from pandemic lows

TOKYO: Large Japanese companies are hiring more university graduates for the first time in four years, according to a Nikkei survey. As the economy recovers from the pandemic recession, labor shortages intensify competition for talent.

As of October 3, 116,079 graduates, including graduate school graduates, were employed, up 5.7% from the previous year. 941 companies responded.

Japanese university students traditionally receive job offers during their senior year and join the company in April of the following year.

The increase is due to a recovery from a period when many companies held back on hiring amid the pandemic, as well as rebounding demand in sectors such as the automotive industry. As more young workers take on other jobs, companies are looking to fresh graduates to fill the void.

Non-manufacturing student recruitment increased for the first time in four years, up 4%. Offers increased in 18 of his 23 industries, with hotels and travel up six times his, and restaurants and other services up four percent.

All Nippon Airways, which has resumed hiring new graduates for general positions other than cabin attendants for the first time in three years, plans to hire 66 new graduates. Career said it accepted applicants who were already working for other companies as long as they were within three years of graduation.

Manufacturing offers rose 9.6% for the second year in a row, with double-digit growth in 10 of 19 industries, including chemicals, automotive and auto parts.

Nissan increased recruitment by 21.5% and expanded its offer to 356 students.

“We are hiring more engineers and skilled workers for growth to achieve electrification-centric growth,” said the automaker.

Yamaha Motor posted a further rapid increase of 65.6% amid robust demand for motorcycles.

Science and engineering students are becoming an increasingly popular recruiting target, especially with companies looking for talent who can help them go digital. Recruitment for this group increased by 8.8% following last year’s increase.

Companies looking to expand their digital and cloud services are actively recruiting. IBM Japan and Ricoh increased offers to new graduates by about half compared to last year.

However, increasing demand for new graduates has not matched supply. Companies surveyed achieved his 90.2% of hiring targets. This is the lowest level in the last ten years. Retail giant Aeon Group, which led respondents with 2,200 offers this year, still fills only 88% of the vacancies and plans to make up the difference with more mid-career hires.

The war for talent is likely to continue. Asked about their hiring plans for spring 2024, 15.9% of his companies said they planned to hire more new graduates, while only 1.2% said they planned to cut back.

However, there remains a lot of uncertainty about the economic outlook, as global inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the weaker yen all pose risks.

Hisashi Yamada said, “Although structural labor shortages due to the declining birthrate will continue, there is a risk that companies will hire fewer workers than planned due to the economic slowdown caused by monetary tightening in Europe and the United States.” Vice Chairman of the Japan Research Institute.