The official job-hunting season for high school students kicked off Sunday as manufacturers and supermarket operators prepared to offer their fewest jobs ever.
This year, the job market for students scheduled to graduate in March is expected to be exceptionally tight. The ratio of job offers to job seekers has sunk to an all-time low of 0.61, and the unemployment rate in July hit a record high of 5 percent.
Ito-Yokado Co., one of the nation's leading supermarket chains, tested and interviewed 40 high school students from the Tokyo metropolitan area at its headquarters in Minato Ward, Tokyo.
The supermarket chain will open only one new store in the 2002 business year, which means that only about 30 of the applicants -- roughly 10 less than this year -- are likely to make the cut.
"My school told us that despite these hard times for job seekers, we'd do all right (at job interviews and exams) if we present ourselves to the fullest," said an 18-year-old girl from Kanagawa Prefecture who came to the tests with her father. "I would like to work as a sales clerk in casual clothing if I'm accepted."