Job prospects looking bleaker for 2010 graduates

April 20, 2009
By Ken Worsley

According to the results of a recent Nikkei poll, Japanese firms intend to cut hiring of college graduates by 19.6% next spring, which would be the first drop since 2003 and the sharpest drop in 34 years. The figures released today are much worse than preliminary survey results that were released on March 15 and indicated that companies were planning to cut graduate hiring by 12.6%.

The Nikkei points out that Toyota is looking at a 49% reduction in hires, while Sony is planning to cut hires by 44% and Toshiba is looking at a 40% cut in 2010.

In terms of firms looking at hiring more people, numbers fall in line with what we have expected: Security firm Secom intends to hire 36% more graduates next year, while Tokyo Electric Power is looking at hiring 29% more graduates.

Filed Under Business, Labor and Wages