Japan's economic shift to employment? “Manufacturing jobs are decreasing”

Japan's economy is changing in employment or “manufacturing jobs are also decreasing” December 13, 20:58

The Japanese economy has been supported by the steady improvement in employment, but recently there has also been “modulation” in its “employment”.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the employment situation is still in short supply, but job offers in the manufacturing industry are becoming less powerful.

New job openings in the manufacturing industry have been below the level of the previous year since February. In particular, after summer, the figure decreased by 15.9% in August, 11% in September, and 15.6% in October.

Of these, automakers are continually moving forward with recruitment of employees during the factory.

Mazda has stopped recruiting period employees since last month at the headquarters plant in Hiroshima Prefecture and the Hofu Plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture due to a decline in automobile sales overseas. In line with the review of the production plan, Honda has stopped recruiting employees at the Saitama Plant's Yorii Plant, and Nissan is also working to reduce personnel.

There are companies other than automakers who are making large-scale workforce reductions.

“UACJ”, the largest aluminum processing company, suffered a decline in performance due to the slowdown in the Chinese economy. By 2022, the number of employees will be reduced by 2000, and Mitsui E & S Holdings, former Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding will also reduce personnel by 1000. Announced that relocation.

The major distributor, “Seven & i Holdings”, will also reduce approximately 3000 people by three years by closing stores at its department stores.

An increasing number of companies are seeking early retirement. According to the summary of the private research firm "Tokyo Shoko Research", the number of early retirements recruited by listed companies by the end of this month has exceeded 10,000, the highest in the past five years.

The government also revised its “Employment Situation” downward for the first time in five years in a monthly economic report last month.

Signs of employment adjustment at parts factory

Companies that manufacture parts for major automakers are also beginning to worry about “employment”.

Okawa Seiroku Kogyo Co., Ltd., which produces brake-related parts at factories in Ibaraki Prefecture, etc., has continued to produce by increasing the number of temporary employees in order to respond to requests for increased production from automakers that have dealt with so far It was.

However, the overseas sales of major manufacturers declined, and from August to last month, orders for parts decreased by about 10% from the same period last year. The decline in orders is expected to continue at least around February next year.

Although the company does not reduce the number of employees, it is waiting for a new job offer to a temporary agency. Since we cannot predict whether sales of automobiles will continue to improve in the future, we believe it will be difficult to increase temporary workers for the time being.

Director Tomoki Okawa says, “We are now working to avoid overtime as much as possible, but if orders fall more than we need, we will need to take additional measures such as increasing holidays. This is a very difficult situation.” It was.

Temporary staffing companies are also changing

The side dispatching human resources to factories and the like is also forced to respond.

Outsourcing, a temporary staffing company in Tokyo, is an industry leader that dispatches more than 20,000 people to various industries such as automobile and machine manufacturers.

However, according to the company, the manufacturing industry has begun to increase the number of manufacturers who have been waiting for new recruits for the period since the summer. In October, the number of people dispatched to “automobiles, heavy machinery and motorcycles” factories in October was more than 40% lower than the previous year.

Mr. Satoshi Nakamoto said, “Normally production started to increase around summer and demand for workers came out, but there was no inquiry.

Tatsuya Ono (24), who is studying design technology for industrial products at this company, retired from a mobile phone sales company that he worked for in June, and initially wanted to be involved in manufacturing at an automobile factory. It was. However, while looking for the suspension of recruitment of employees during the period, I became concerned about whether I could work for a long time at the factory, so I wanted to learn the technology and design technology of industrial products from scratch. I decided to learn.

Ono-san said, “I don't have much studying the technology to make something a little elaborate with software, but I will do my best to be active in any workplace.”

The company will continue to enhance the content of the training so that it will be able to dispatch human resources who are ready to work in fields that require human resources, even if there are a lot of moves to wait for recruitment of periodic employees.

Mr. Nakamoto said, “Corresponding to fluctuations is a way of using human resources business for companies. Educating motivated people and responding to corporate needs by bringing them to the skills required by companies. I wanted to do it. "

Expert "The Japanese economy is now at the landing"

Yuriko Shimanaka, an economist at Mizuho Research Institute, said, “The Japanese economy is now in the state of landing. What I am particularly interested in is“ Employment ”, and new job openings in the manufacturing industry are on the decline. As the employment environment worsens and consumption weakens, domestic demand may disrupt the existing composition that supports the slowdown in external demand. It is necessary. "

As for the outlook, he says, “Employment, which has been recovering moderately until now, will be flat in the future. The recovery trend of the economy as a whole may remain weak.”