A recruiter of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. interviewed a student online on June 1, in Chiyoda Ward in Tokyo. More than 70 percent of graduating students secured job offers before the official hiring season began on June 1, according to a survey that shows government-led hiring guidelines have largely been ignored.
The regulations are designed to make it possible for universities to focus more on their studies by preventing companies from starting their recruitment drives too early.
The regulations provide businesses with information seminars for third-year students in March and interviews for fourth-year students in June.
Many companies start hiring months before they want to secure the best students.
As of May 15, 72.1 percent of students who will graduate in 2024 had already received a job offer, according to a Recruit Co. survey.
The figure is 6.7 percentage points higher than the ratio for the same period the previous year,indicating that more recruiters are getting a head start.
The labor market is tighter, with the job-to-apprentice ratio reducing to levels before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
There are 1,71 jobs available per job-hunting student due to graduate in 2024, up from 1.58 in the previous year, according to a survey released in April by Recruit Works Institute.
Smaller companies are among the growing trend. Job openings in companies with fewer than 300 employees rose by 11.6 percent in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same period last year.