Japanese companies are less inclined to increase the number of graduates in 2020

TOKYO (Kyodo) – Large Japanese companies are less willing to recruit new graduates for the fiscal year 2020 than the current year beginning in April, due to concerns over the economic outlook, has Saturday revealed a survey of Kyodo News.

In the survey of 112 companies, including Toyota Motor Corp., Sony Corp. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc., 21%, or 23 companies, announced plans to hire more new graduates, up from 29% in fiscal 2019.

However, many companies have said they want to increase the number of women and foreign nationals, given the chronic shortage of manpower and the rapid aging of the population in the country.

The survey, conducted from mid-March to early April, found that 34% of firms, 38, said they would maintain previous recruitment levels for new graduates, while 16 they would reduce the number of hires, against 10% previously.

Companies with a proactive attitude in recruiting new graduates were distinguished in the steel, machinery, real estate and retail sectors.

In addition to uncertainty about the direction of the Japanese economy, which intensified with the government's plan to raise the consumption tax to 8% in October, compared to 8% currently, a manufacturer suggested that a more small number of workers would be needed with advance information. Technology.

However, 60% of companies said they were struggling to obtain the necessary resources, mainly because of Japan's low birth rate and aging society.

As part of the effort to remedy the situation, 57% said they were trying to create a more women-friendly work environment, while 24% said they wanted to seek more foreign workers.