Labor Shortages in Japan – 32.1% of compagnies had not been able to meet their April–June recruitment targets

In July 2014, Recruit Works Institute, the research division of the HR services giant Recruit Holdings, released a report on companies’ response to the tight labor market. The report was based on 1,000 responses to a June 20–24 nationwide Internet survey targeting people directly or indirectly involved in hiring at private businesses with 30 or more employees.

Of all those responding, 67.9% reported that they had been able to meet their April–June recruitment targets for regular employees, while 32.1% had not. Generally speaking, the ability to meet the targets increased with the size of the company: the rate stood at just 62.2% among companies with 30–299 employees but rose to 80.3% among those with 5,000 or more. By industry, wholesale distributors and finance companies were least likely to experience a shortfall, with 81.3% and 79.4% meeting their targets, respectively. By contrast, only 46.3% of healthcare and human services businesses and 42.4% of shipping firms met their 2014 hiring quotas for regular employees.

Meanwhile, 69.4% of the companies surveyed succeeded in filling all their openings for part-time and temporary employees, while 30.6% fell short. By sector, the highest shortfall rates were in retail (43.8%) and food service (42.4%). In sum, one in three companies surveyed found itself with a shortage of workers, regardless of employee category. The industry-by-industry statistics closely mirror the anecdotal evidence of recent media reports.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Japan’s Labor Shortages in Perspective | Nippon.com.