Job-hopping replaces Japanese labour loyalty
JAPAN’S labour shortage has pushed job-hopping to its highest since the global financial crisis, as companies scramble for workers with experience in the rapidly-ageing economy.
Job-hopping goes against the grain of Japan’s work culture, where many companies hire graduates and employ them until they retire. But the country’s jobs-for-life system is slowly giving way as firms curb labour costs and society shifts.
Switching jobs for better conditions is no longer taboo amid a tightening labour market, and the trend is being led by mid-career workers.
“There’s always a risk of failure. But you can’t get what you want if you don’t try,” said Hiromichi Itakura, 44, head of a medical job placement department at Saint Media in Tokyo, who changed jobs in January.
“I took up this job because it gives me a more responsible post. As a salary man, I also wanted a higher salary,” he said, adding that his pay is now 20 percent higher than previously.
The number of job-hoppers rose for the seventh straight year to 3.06 million in 2016, the highest since 2009, though it still accounts for just 4.8 percent of the labour market.
Older workers have more opportunities, because of demographics: a fast-ageing society, low birth rate and falling working-age population. The jobless rate has stood at a near two-decade low while the jobs-to-applicants ratio is at a 43-year high. Big firms say the labour market is at its tightest since 1992.
Though job turnover is still low relative to other major economies – the change should be welcome news to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has been championing labour flexibility and merit-based pay.
Enhancing labour mobility is expected to help raise low productivity and boost wages, getting Japan convincingly out of a deflationary rut.
Companies facing labour shortages are willing to pay for battle-tested workers who don’t need as much training.
Electric motor maker Nidec is actively hiring mid-career engineers and remunerating them for their experience.
“Competition is tough for tried-and-true personnel,” a company spokesperson said on condition of anonymity. “We are doing our best to persuade talented people to join our company.”
Job-hoppers aged between mid-40s and 65 or older are on the rise, hitting their highest, according to comparable data going back to 2002.
“The mid-career job market is booming,” said Hirofumi Amano of en-japan inc, a job placement agency.
People older than 35 used to be considered past their prime in the mid-career market, but these workers are now sought after. Companies are seeking experienced managers and engineers and are offering higher pay, Amano said.
Workers who secured higher salaries from changing jobs outnumbered those whose pay checks shrank.
The International Monetary Fund has urged Japan to enhance worker mobility to strengthen productivity and wage pressures.
Bottlenecks
“Low labour mobility, a strong preference for job security, and wage setting based on past inflation constitute the main bottlenecks for triggering needed wage-price dynamics.” The rising mid-career job market reflects Japan’s changing business climate and evolving attitudes about lifetime employment and seniority-based promotion, analysts say.
“Look what happens to even big firms like Toshiba, there’s no guarantee for job security. Lifetime employment is something of the good old past,” said Masae Miyachi, 41, of an IT venture company Kaonavi.
Miyachi changed jobs a year-and-a-half ago and her annual salary has now increased by ¥1 million (R116 600), helping her finance a home loan. “You need to carve out a career for yourself to earn a stable income, and I’m doing just that by changing jobs,” she said. – Reuters
‘Look what happens to even big firms like Toshiba, there’s no guarantee for job security.’