Apr 24, 2022 (Nikkei) - Japan has seen a surge in job-hopping among older workers as companies seek experienced individuals who can help them grow in the post-pandemic era.
The number of workers who changed jobs in the five years through fiscal 2020 doubled among those ages 41 and older, growing at a much faster pace than that for younger people.
Some 10,000 aging workers sought new employment through three recruiting agencies in fiscal 2020, up 1.9 times from five years earlier, according to the Japan Executive Search and Recruitment Association. It was the fastest pace of growth among any age group, with those in their 40s and 50s leading the pack.
In Japan, age 35 has been considered the cutoff for making a meaningful career change because many companies have seniority systems and offer new hires few opportunities for promotion if they are over that age.
But things are changing.
The number of people who registered with Senior Job, an agency specializing in placing older workers, reached 61,500 at the end of 2021, a 2.7-fold increase from 2019.
An increasing number of older workers are changing jobs in part because companies are accelerating restructuring. In 2021, 84 listed companies launched early retirement programs, with 69 of them targeting the curtailment of 15,892 workers altogether, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
As a result, job placement websites have seen a sharp increase in registrations by former employees of companies that have adopted plans to encourage early retirement. The number of registrations on En Japan by former employees of Japan Tobacco and Aoyama Trading, two companies active in early retirement incentives, has risen by 3.1 and 3.7 times from 2018, respectively. ...continue reading
