'Abenomics' yet to affect hiring levels
Improved business sentiment in Japan due to the election of a new government has not yet affected hiring levels, according to the recently released 2013 Salary Survey by Robert Walters, one of the world’s leading specialist professional recruitment consultancies.
The comprehensive 14th edition of the annual Global Salary Survey, reports that the hiring outlook for 2013 is set to remain comparable to 2012, despite anticipated pro-business policies from the new Abe government dubbed “Abenomics.”
Companies in Japan will remain generally cautious and are set to focus on existing business rather than initiate expansion plans in the coming year. As a result, firms will look to improve or “up-skill” their workforces by hiring more experienced professionals with a stronger compliment of skill sets when replacing departing staff.
Multinational firms will also continue scrutinizing global staffing costs, which will create more difficulty for line managers to obtain local headcount approvals for incoming staff. Due to the lengthened hiring process, employers are expected to seek more experienced, non-managerial staff that are able to contribute immediately with minimal training. However, the availability of these professionals will remain limited in Japan, which may lead to wage inflation later in the year.
Lanis Yarzab, director of commerce and industry at Robert Walters Japan, said: “It is still far too early to determine any discernible movement in recruitment levels as a result of the anticipated policies of the Abe government. From our perspective, we expect businesses in Japan to remain cautious and recruit predominately on a replacement basis, rather than filling new headcount. To improve their existing teams, employers will look for workers with specialist skills when hiring for attrition.”
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11 Comments
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2
dcog9065
Unfortunate to hear about the move towards hiring experienced professionals over younger, inexperienced graduates, etc., however on the other hand good to hear about possible wage inflation towards the end of the year :)
3
BertieWooster
Abenomics is not expected to do much else than plunge the sinking ship to the bottom!
-1
Peter Payne
And yet, the yen is up, companies in export like me are anticipating better times, and oh gee, we're hiring two positions right now.
1
sangetsu03
It generally takes at least 18 months, often longer, to begin to see the real effects of policy changes. Employers had already chosen how many employees to hire before Abe came to office, so obviously "Abenomics" could not have had any effect. The news article was a waste of column space.
1
MarkX
Sangetsu, I agree with you. What has Abenomics really done, other than talk the yen down. I really feel that this is all being orchestrated by big business and the LDP just to get the consumption tax raise that they all want. Also Peter Payne, I wonder how a weak yen is going to help the average Japanese, who will get gouged even more when they buy things. Everything from fuel to food will increase greatly, as will electricity, since the nuclear plants are still shut down. The gov't will hit its 2% inflation target, and then watch it skyrocket, as they will have no way to control it! But it sure looks good!
1
Dog
BertieWoosterMar. 15, 2013 - 10:52PM JST
It's like pumping more petrol into a car whose engine long stopped working.
1
BertieWooster
Dog,
Nice analogy.
Yours is the modern version of "flogging a dead horse."
0
tkoind2
And this is news? From the start many observers have said that his approach to improving the economy is a doomed one. While it has had some immediate positives for those in the stock market, it has done absolutely nothing to address the real problems in Japan. And certainly nothing to address the increasing instability in the job market.
Further, if he succeeds in raising inflation, it will actually start to significantly harm working people. Add to that rising energy costs, rising taxes and flat if not declining incomes and you have a plan that will likely drop consumer spending making matters even worst for jobs.
The corporations here have already said no to increasing wages. So what happens next? 1. Prices and inflation continue to rise. 2. Job stability continues to worry working families. 3. Tax hikes limit the available spending money for most families. 3. Wages do not keep pace with 1 and 3. So #4 becomes inevitable. #4. People stop spending money and start saving for the impending rainy days.
What happens then? The cycle begins. 1. People stop spending. 2. Profits drop so lay offs in nearly every sector follow. 3. Job insecurity rises and even more people stop spending. See #1 again.
0
AKBfan
Unemployment in Japan alreay pretty low. Is Abenomics focussed on creating more busywork (e.g. old dudes waving lightsticks and shouting, casts of tghousands at depatos, etc) or in talking up the stock market and down the yen? anyway, it is all going to end in tears.
-1
tkoind2
AKBfan. Unemployment is fairly low because of how it is reported, not because it is actually low. If you are out of work long enough, you are no longer reported as unemployed, despite being without a job. The actual unemployment numbers are projected near 10%. And that is before we talk about underemployment which is equally bad for households. These are often people who have lost meaningful jobs and incomes and not been able to replace them. Especially true of middle aged workers who are laid off or forced into retirement.
Don't forget that 17% of the population lives at or below poverty lines. And 1 in 4 women lives in poverty.
Denial is a strong Japanese political trait. If you imagine the problem is not there, it isn't. But reality is rather tenacious in demonstrating that poverty, unemployment and underemployment are all very real concerns for Japan.
0
Saxon Salute
Abe is merely doing what LDP governments always do, which is divert resources (through borrowing) to big business and construction. Meanwhile the debt skyrockets and no structural changes are made. Some inflation is likely, but in Japan it will only serve to dampen demand. Wage inflation is less likely for most domestic companies, but those companies who have their profits repatriated from overseas will raise bonuses due to the weakening yen and may improve wages a little as their profits increase. The trend in Japan is to hire on one-year contracts wherever possible, and this won't change anytime soon. Japan needs to change its idiotic Labor Laws before employers will hire more people on a full-time basis.
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