At least a quarter of major Japanese companies plan to hire more new graduates in the spring of 2016, compared with numbers this spring, a survey by Jiji Press suggests.
Of the 100 companies surveyed between mid-February and early March, 26 firms said they will employ more new graduates, six plan to hire fewer, and 38 are set to maintain the status quo.
The other 30 firms polled, including major banks and power utilities, declined to disclose their employment plans, partly because new cross-industry guidelines on the hiring of new graduates call on firms to start recruitment activities later.
Many of the companies planning to hire more new graduates operate in the automobile, steel and logistics industries, the survey found. They cited earnings growth.
Amid increasing labor shortages in the manufacturing sector, Toyota Motor Corp. plans to take on 2,275 permanent staff next spring, up about 30 percent from a year before, including 300 from among skilled temporary employees, up by 190.
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. will double its spring employment to 1,620. The steel-maker sees a need to promote personnel development and the transfer of skills within the company, following a spate of accidents at its Nagoya ironworks last year.
Among other respondents, Fast Retailing Co., the operator of Uniqlo casual clothing stores, cited business expansion as a reason for hiring more new graduates, while Mizuho Financial Group Inc. pointed to deployments in strategic business areas.
Meanwhile, many companies in the information and communications sector plan to reduce their recruitment of new graduates.
Mobile phone carrier NTT Docomo Inc. said this is due to the transfer of some operations, including sales to business users, to a subsidiary.
SoftBank Corp. has lower manpower needs for new businesses and is also reporting fewer people taking early retirement.
The survey also found that 63 of the 100 companies said the revised recruitment guidelines are having an impact on their recruitment plans.
The new guidelines call on member firms of the Japan Business Federation, better known as Keidanren, the nation’s main business lobby, to refrain from scheduling interviews and other recruitment activities for students graduating next March until August, four months later than under the previous guidelines.
Keidanren adopted the revised guidelines at the request of the government, which believes the activities may disrupt students’ academic progress.
East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, said the revised guidelines could make it difficult to replace students who initially accept job offers but later change their minds.
Toshiba Corp. expressed concern that non-Keidanren firms are not subject to the recruitment rules.
news source & image credits: japantimes.co.jp
