42% Of Big Japanese Companies To Increase Hiring

Forty-two percent of companies plan to increase new graduate hires in spring 2024, up six percentage points from a year ago, according to a survey by the Yomiuri Shimbun and Nippon Television Network Corp.

Photo Insert: All Nippon Airways said it planned to resume hiring new graduates for flight attendant positions for the first time in four years and aimed to more than double the previous year’s number.

With economic activities returning to normal after stagnating due to COVID-19, an increasing number of companies intend to step up their recruitment drives to secure human resources.

The questionnaire survey, which was conducted on 122 major Japanese companies from mid-March to early April, asked about plans to recruit new graduates in spring 2024.

In previous surveys of this kind, the percentage of companies who said they aimed to increase such spring hires was low during the spread of the coronavirus, with figures of 9% for spring 2021 and 14% for spring 2022.

However, as domestic infections eased, the percentage figures rose, with 36% of firms saying they planned more new grad hires in spring 2023 and 42% saying similarly for spring 2024.

The transportation sector was conspicuous among industries. Against the backdrop of increased passenger numbers, All Nippon Airways said it planned to resume hiring new graduates for flight attendant positions for the first time in four years and aimed to more than double the previous year’s number.

The firm said it was necessary to secure human resources to resume growth on the back of the recovery in air travel demand.

Major railway companies, meanwhile, said they would increase their hiring of new graduates to pre-COVID-19 levels.

Many companies said they would try to secure the necessary personnel needed for technological innovation in such fields as electric vehicle manufacturing, while others planned to hire more new graduates for overseas expansion.

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