Metro job fair grads' last chance?

Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010
The Japan Times
By NATSUKO FUKUE
Staff writer

Many prospective college graduates are facing a cold, grim winter in their job hunt.

A survey by the labor and education ministries found that only 73.1 percent of university students graduating this year had received job offers as of Dec. 1, down from 80.5 percent a year earlier. That is the lowest figure since the survey was begun in 1996.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Labor Bureau are trying to help by sponsoring a job fair next month.

The metro government expects to draw about 150 small and medium-size companies and 2,500 job seekers graduating in March to the event, which will be held Feb. 16 in Shinjuku Ward.

At a similar fair held last November, about 2,500 students showed up, three times more than the government expected, said Masayo Maruyama, head of the youth employment division at the metro government.

"We organized (the fair) in November for students who did not receive an informal promise of employment by October. Then we decided to hold the fair again in February because it would be a last opportunity to get a job for those who wish to start working in April," she said, adding that job fairs for students graduating in 2011 are already about to start.

Takuya Kurita, editor-in-chief of Mainichi Communications Mainabi, a recruiting Web site, said university students typically begin their job hunting in October of their junior year. The early birds finish their search the following April or May at the beginning of their senior year, and if they're lucky they get an informal promise of employment in October.

Kurita said job fairs are mostly held in February and March, and are aimed at students graduating the following year.

On the other hand, small and medium-size companies tend to look for candidates throughout the year, according to Maruyama.

"Our job fair provides a good opportunity for students to get to know many companies in one day," she said.

An added benefit for recruiting companies is that registration at the government job fair is free, while it can cost hundreds of thousands of yen to set up a booth at a private-sector seminar.

"Since the 'Lehman shock' some companies have been canceling their employment promises, and the employment rate of university graduates was low last year. So we assumed it would be worse" this year.

The latest figures from the labor ministry show the unemployment rate stood at 5.2 percent in November, down from 5.7 percent in July, which was the worst reading since 1953. However, the jobless rate is much higher for the young, reaching 8.5 percent for people between 15 and 24 years old and 6.3 percent for those from 25 to 34.

The employment picture is likely to remain murky through spring 2011.