Robert Walters Japan publishes “Salary Survey 2020”

Technology developed to counter the labour shortage to create greater talent shortage in the technology sector

TOKYO, January 27, 2020—Robert Walters Japan, a leading recruitment consultancy with the largest number of registered Japanese and English bilingual professionals, announced the publication of its "Salary Survey 2020," which summarizes hiring trends and salary levels by discipline based on cases of mid-career recruitment of highly skilled talent by foreign-affiliated and Japanese-affiliated global companies in Japan.

The Salary Survey 2020 booklet will be distributed to applicants free of charge from today in two languages: Japanese and English. Furthermore, an online version will become available on the same day on robertwalters.co.jp.

Domestic recruitment trends (overview)

The job openings-to-applicants ratio in Japan has remained relatively unchanged at around 1.6 and demand for labour continues to rise. Japan’s declining and ageing population continues to affect the labour shortage without showing any signs of a solution. Workplaces involved in supply chain, manufacturing, services, and clerical tasks are addressing this shortage through the introduction of technology or automating tasks that typically involve simple but timely or physically demanding work. With the Tokyo Olympics, Japan is achieving globalisation at an accelerated pace. As such, foreign-affiliated firms and leading Japanese companies with overseas business have shown increased demand for global talent with fluency in English and Japanese.

With an increasing number of tourists visiting Japan, tour companies, restaurants, hotels, entertainment facilities, and other areas in the service industry are hiring more bilingual and trilingual talent across the country. Online travel agents (OTAs), recognising historically high numbers of Japanese nationals travelling in the country and overseas, have shown a significant uptick in recruitment activity. The Olympic Games can already be credited for seeing more people hired by the marketing departments of companies with official corporate sponsorship, as well as by advertising agencies and PR firms. The surge in spending ahead of the increased consumption tax rate was more modest than anticipated. However, predictions that the increase would affect consumer sales prompted accelerated demand in hiring talent with experience in digital work or supply chain operations.

Companies involved with industrial IoT, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), mobility (connected cars and autonomous driving), medtech, fintech, and other areas are making efforts to hire IT developers, telecommunications and online specialists, as well as talented security specialists, engineers, consultants, and sales staff. The online industry has seen a particularly strong trend in smartphone payment services, with many new offerings launching in quick succession. As a result, many talented individuals have flocked to this industry, including people with financial backgrounds,
app developers and security experts. More companies are implementing new technology to overcome the labour shortage.

Ironically, however, the technology that is being developed and introduced to counter the labour shortage is creating a greater talent shortage in the technology sector.

Due to Japan’s ageing population, healthcare companies are searching for talent specialising in life sciences, central nervous system disorders and diagnosis and treatment in the field of oncology. There has been eager bidding for specialists with expertise in regulatory affairs, medical affairs, safety information, and similar fields. Following the growing awareness of health and the concept of the 100-year lifespan, manufacturers of chemicals and ingredients like supplements and organic products have also shown more job openings.

The widespread collection and utilisation of data has led to poor security measures and compliance issues with the Personal Information Protection Law. This has resulted in incidents with cryptocurrencies and smartphone payments, consequently triggering stricter financial regulation. To accommodate these regulations, demand for talent with security, audit, risk, and compliance expertise has increased. The globalisation of the business environment has placed importance on global talent with high English proficiency within legal work involving patents, intellectual property and the Antimonopoly Act.

With so few bilingual professionals, the job climate in Japan is expected to favour Japanese nationals with a sense of international affairs and strong English ability, as well as foreign nationals with highly technical skills.

About Robert Walters Japan (https://www.robertwalters.co.jp/)

Robert Walters was established in London, United Kingdom, in 1985. It is a specialist recruitment consultancy and has offices in the key cities of 31 countries around the world. Robert Walters Japan is the Japanese subsidiary of Robert Walters. The Tokyo office was established in 2000, and the Osaka office in 2007. We provide recruitment consultation services for full-time regular employees, as well as dispatch and contract employees. The strength of Robert Walters Japan lies in our expertise in bilingual specialists (professionals who are proficient mainly in English and Japanese), and we have the world’s largest database for bilingual specialists with experience, knowledge, and skills in various professional fields. We also recommend specialists to a wide range of client companies, from leading global corporations to newly established companies, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises. Our expert consultants who are familiar with each industry work in teams to provide recruitment consultation services across a wide range of industries and job categories.

To request further information, please contact PR executive on 03-4570-1500 or info@robertwalters.co.jp