Job-Hunting Season Begins in Japan for 2024 Graduates

Tokyo, March 1 (Jiji Press)--Japanese companies kicked off job seminars Wednesday for university students graduating in spring 2024, amid labor shortages reflecting the normalization of economic activities following a slump caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Job information provider Mynavi Corp. held joint job seminars at some 20 locations across the country the same day.

Some 520 companies are set to take part in a three-day seminar through Friday at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center, which is expected to attract some 12,000 students.

"The race for the company I want to join is highly competitive," said a 22-year-old male Tokyo student visiting the center. "I'm nervous because it would be my first job."

According to Mynavi, the proportion of companies planning to increase new hires from the previous year stood at 27.7 pct for liberal arts students graduating next spring, up from 19.1 pct for spring 2023 graduates, and at 29.8 pct for students with science majors, up from 22.9 pct. Both shares rose for the second straight year.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]