"Welcoming High School Graduates" Labor Shortage Drives Up Wages... Competition Erupts in Japan

Hiring Continues in Fields AI Cannot Replace
Local Media: "It Will Not End Temporarily"

Japanese companies, suffering from chronic labor shortages, are reportedly significantly expanding their hiring of high school graduates.

Nikkei reported on the 28th that, comparing corporate hiring plans for fiscal year 2025 (April 2025 to March 2026) with the previous year, the number of high school graduate hires is expected to increase by 19.9%, while university graduate hires will rise by 15.6%.

Nikkei stated, "This is the first time in 27 years since 1998 that the employment growth rate of high school graduates has surpassed that of university graduates."

It added, "The background to the growing interest in hiring high school graduates is the shortage of workers in occupations involving on-site work," and especially predicted that hiring of high school graduates will continue in physical labor fields that cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).

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The employment growth rate of high school graduates in Japanese companies is expected to record double digits for three consecutive years until fiscal year 2025. For example, Yamato Transport plans to hire about 270 high school graduates in fiscal year 2025, approximately 50% more than the previous year, and train them as delivery workers.

The Secom Group also plans to increase high school graduate hiring by 30%, and JFE Steel intends to expand it by 80%.

As the trend of hiring high school graduates spreads, companies are also showing movements to raise wages for high school graduates.

According to the Basic Survey on Wage Structure in Japan, the average monthly salary in 2023 for university graduates aged 20?24 was 239,700 yen (approximately 2.07 million KRW), while for high school graduates aged 19 and under it was 191,500 yen (approximately 1.65 million KRW). Since 2021, the wage growth rate for high school graduates has been 4.9%, higher than the 4.5% for university graduates.

Nikkei predicted that the competition for hiring high school graduates will become even fiercer in the future.

Nikkei analyzed, "The number of high school graduates seeking employment is decreasing, and the expansion of high school graduate employment may not end as a temporary phenomenon."