Column  Finance and the Social Security System  2019.06.13

【Aging, safety net and fiscal crisis in Japan】No.195: The Number of Career Changers is Increasing

In this column series, Yukihiro Matsuyama, Research Director at CIGS introduces the latest information about aging, safety net and fiscal crisis in Japan with data of international comparison.
Employment

According to employment statistics released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the number of career changers has increased for eight consecutive years since 2010, reaching 3.29 million in 2018 (Figure 1). This means that employment mobility has returned to the level before the 2008 Lehman crisis. Figure 2 shows the career change rates in 2018 by age group and gender. The rate for men aged 55-64 is 4.3%, which is higher than the 2.3% for males in the 45-54 age group. This group's career change rate was 3.8% in 2017.


Figure 1 Number of career changers

No.195_fig1.png

Note: The annual total does not necessarily match the sum of the numbers for males and females
in a particular year because it has been rounded off.
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications


Figure 2 Career change ratio by age group and gender in 2018

No.195_fig2.png

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications