Specialist professional recruitment firm Robert Walters Japan published a report on trends in senior employment. In recent years, the workforce in Japan has been shrinking and there has been a growing focus to increase diversity in the workplace. The report explores how trends are increasing for senior employment which make up one part of this diversifying workforce in Japan.
A rise in people aged 50 and over changing jobs
According to our survey findings between 2019 and 2023, the proportion of over-50s who have secured full-time employment through Robert Walters rose from 11% in 2019 to 16% in 2023, showing more people in Japan aged 50 and over are filling roles formally undertaken by those in their 40s, reflecting the ageing “Koresha-shakai” society that Japan is which is projected to only keep increasing.
A marked increase in temporary employment for 60+
Looking at temporary employment, we found that the proportion of over-60s who have been placed in roles by Robert Walters has increased dramatically in recent years; from just 3% in 2019 to more than triple in 2023 at 10%. Positions that are common for people in this age bracket to work in Japan include general assistant and administrative roles, as well as accounting assistants, translators, interpreters, and operation assistants.
Many people in their 60s and above may be leveraging their wealth of experience and expertise to stay employed, despite this age traditionally been an age for people to retire from work, especially to create a means for compensating rising inflation and higher cost of living.
Examples of Top Functions for Temporary & Contract Roles for 60s+
Rachna Ratra, Managing Director of Tokyo, says: "It is important to consider a diverse workforce if we are to tackle the talent shortage now and in the future, and the fact that the percentage of job changes made by those in their 50s in full-time employment and those in their 60s in part-time employment has risen is evidence that seniors are also sought after as an important demographic for the Japanese workforce. However, it is difficult to determine a conclusive reason for the increase in the proportion of temporary employment among people in their 60s by looking at the results alone, as there is a mix of cases where people have given up regular employment and where people have chosen to take up temporary employment themselves."
To summarise, senior employment is only projected to increase moving forward and companies should be active to embrace, rather than shy away from, offering roles to this segment to help ease talent shortages.
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