The nation's top three brokerages are cutting back on graduate hires as household investors continue to shun the stock market, squeezing their retail business.
The total number of planned graduate hires in 2018 by Nomura Holdings Inc., Daiwa Securities Group Inc. and SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. will be the lowest in five years, according to a Bloomberg News survey of hiring plans.
The securities firms will add a total of about 1,540 people in their annual intake next April, down from 1,847 this year.