Japan's Highest Number of University Graduate Job Offers Since Financial Crisis... Severe Labor Shortage

Students in a More Advantageous Position than Companies... Frequent Multiple Job Offers
Intensifying Shortage of STEM Talent... Some Offer Exceptional Conditions

In Japan, the economy has recently been revitalized, especially in the semiconductor and tourism sectors, leading to a severe labor shortage, which contrasts sharply with South Korea's severe youth unemployment problem. In particular, the competition among companies to attract talent in the new college graduate hiring market has intensified, resulting in a significant increase in the number of college graduate job offers.

Job posting on the Japanese job search site Mynavi. (Photo by Mynavi)

On the 23rd, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that the number of college graduate job offers for those expected to join in spring 2024 reached the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. Unlike South Korea's job market, in Japan, students begin job hunting when they enter their third year of university. They secure a job offer before graduation, finish their remaining semesters, and start working immediately after graduation. This process of securing a company to join after graduation in advance is called 'naitei' (job offer).

According to a survey conducted by Nikkei targeting 1,083 major companies, the number of college graduate job offers was 121,934, a 7.4% increase compared to the number of new hires this spring. This means that the number of job offers exceeds the actual number of hires, indicating that many individuals have received multiple overlapping job offers from different companies. This has created a favorable situation for job seekers to choose where to work. Nikkei analyzed that "the hiring market, which was stagnant due to COVID-19, is gradually revitalizing, and the recovery in tourism demand has significantly increased the number of job offers."

The labor shortage faced by companies is becoming increasingly severe. No matter how much the number of job offers increases, the target for workforce supply has not been met. According to Nikkei, the fulfillment rate of job offers based on hiring plans was only 91.8%.

By industry, non-manufacturing sectors saw a significant 8.2% increase in job offers compared to the previous year. By field, railway and bus sectors increased by 35.5%, and hotel and travel industries by 2.2%, showing a substantial rise in hiring in the tourism sector.

Manufacturing also increased by 5.5%, with 17 out of 19 sectors seeing an increase in job offers, including automobiles (6.9%) and machinery (7.2%). Mitsubishi Motors hired 200 people, a 12.4% increase from the previous year. With the construction of new semiconductor factories underway, the demand for related personnel is expected to grow further.

Especially, attracting science and engineering graduates has become as difficult as "catching stars in the sky." As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) increases, the need for science and engineering talent grows, but the fulfillment rate of job offers is 90.5%, much lower than that of humanities graduates (97%), indicating a significant shortage of personnel. In response, companies are securing competitiveness through various incentives. For example, Itochu Techno-Solutions offers a training system where a professional trainer is assigned for three years after joining, and raises the starting salary for college graduates by 30% after employment.

Nitori Group, considering engineers who frequently transfer to regional areas, announced the "My Area System," which limits the work location so employees can commute without relocating. It also explicitly states that using this system has no impact on promotions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.