A survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology revealed that as of December 2023, 12, the job offer rate for university students had reached 1%, 1.6 percentage points higher than the same period last year, making it the third highest level ever. This appears to be because companies, especially in metropolitan areas, are looking to secure human resources as the labor shortage becomes increasingly serious.
According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the rate at national and public universities was 1.2%, down 87.6 points from the same period last year, but at 85.5% at private universities, up 2.2 points over the same period last year. By gender, male students increased by 2.2 points to 85%, and female students increased by 0.7 points to 87.2%. While liberal arts students recorded an increase of 86.2 points to 2.3%, science students decreased by 1.3 points to 85.4%.
Dividing the country into six regions, sales exceeded the same period last year in four regions: Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, and Chugoku/Shikoku. Chubu increased by 6 points to 4%, Kinki increased by 7.5 points to 88.4%, and Chugoku/Shikoku increased by 4.3 points to 84.7%. In the Kanto region, the percentage increased by 1.4 points to 80.7%, which is the level at which most students seeking employment have obtained job offers. Conversely, Hokkaido/Tohoku decreased by 0.7 points to 90.6%, and Kyushu decreased by 5 points to 77.4%.
The percentage for junior college students decreased by 2.7 points to 66.7%, the percentage for technical colleges increased by 1.2 percentage points to 97.8%, and the percentage for vocational college students increased by 3.4 percentage points to 73.2%.
As the coronavirus pandemic subsides, labor shortages are rapidly becoming apparent due to the aging of the workforce. Companies are thought to be rushing to secure human resources, as maintaining social infrastructure and business activities could become difficult if things continue as they are.
