Column Finance and the Social Security System 2021.10.11
【Aging, safety net and fiscal crisis in Japan】No.333: New graduates suffered the most from falling employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic
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
New graduates suffered the most from falling employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The unemployment rate rose from 2.4% in 2019 to 2.8% in 2020 due to economic stagnation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Figure 1). It reached 3% in May 2021, but declined to 2.8% in July, partly due to the vaccination progress. Figure 2 shows the unemployment rate by age group for males, while Figure 3 shows the same data for females. It is observed that for both males and females, the unemployment rate in the 15–24 years old group tends to be the highest across all time periods. For males in this age group, the unemployment rate was significantly higher than in other age groups during times of crisis, such as the Lehman shock in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This may be explained by companies restraining from hiring new graduates during these times.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is investigating the number of new graduates whose employment offerings were canceled by companies in order to paint a clearer picture of the new graduates’ employment situation (Table 1). The fact that 2,143 new workers who graduated in March 2009 (i.e., immediately after the Lehman shock) had virtually no recruitment prospects was a major social problem at the time. According to a survey released by the ministry in September 2021, there were 136 new graduates in March 2021, whose recruitment promise was canceled; of them, 124 graduates had this experience due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figure 1 The unemployment rate
Source: The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training
Figure 2 The unemployment rate by age group for male
Source: The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training
Figure 3 The unemployment rate by age group for female
Source: The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training
Table 1 The number of cases in which a company canceled a job offer for new graduates
Source: The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare