Hiring Market Update, Japan November 2011

Lionel Kaidatzis, Managing Director Japan, talks about Japan's Hiring Market 2012

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This year has been a difficult one for the people of Japan who have had more to cope with than the usual business cycles and challenges. The large scale devastation of March’s earthquake and tsunami brought tragedy and destruction to the lives of many Japanese people. A faltering global economy and turbulent financial markets have compounded this, further impacting the lives of many professionals over the course of the year.

It is a testament to the strength of the Japanese spirit and culture however, that despite the widespread damage and disruption the March 2011 earthquake initially caused to daily business activity, only eight months on from this disaster business activity levels are relatively healthy in both financial services and commerce & industry. In Tokyo and further afield, the speed at which the community has managed to recover is exemplary. Japan and its people have been resilient in an extremely testing business environment and this is reflected in company performance, filtering through to hiring activity. We have seen a return by most of those who left Japan in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. The markets rebounded, followed by another decline, however current recruitment activity is reasonably buoyant bearing in mind the events the country has faced this year. 

We recently surveyed over 1,050 senior level operational and HR managers working across the financial services and commercial sectors in Asia Pacific. As part of our ongoing commitment to keep our clients and candidates up to date with the latest trends in the recruitment sector, we asked them about their hiring plans for 2012 and the challenges they expect to face in the Japanese market over the coming year. 

In this year’s Hiring Market Update, you will find a summary of Morgan McKinley’s findings. To make this report as interesting and relevant as possible to readers, we have separated the results for financial services and commerce & industry. We trust that you will find this information useful and we welcome your feedback. 

Lionel Kaidatzis
Managing Director | Japan
T: +81 (0)3 5403 7064
E: lionel@morganmckinley.co.jp