Employment rates for March high school and university graduates have improved significantly, thanks largely to some 2,300 consultants at public-run job-placement centers nationwide, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.
A labor ministry report released Friday said the employment rate for college graduates rose for the second straight year to 93.9 percent, while a separate report by a high school teachers union put the rate for high school graduates at a record-high 93.8 percent.
The brisk performance is due to enhanced use of "job supporters," most of whom have gained experience in human resource management at private companies and are dispatched to public job placement agencies all over Japan. The government has increased the number of such job supporters since fiscal 2010, following the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse.