Over 97% of new university graduates in Japan found jobs this spring, up 1.5 points from the previous year for the first rise in three years, reflecting a labor shortage as the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Friday.

"On the back of workforce shortages, companies' job offers are strong, with some appearing more willing to hire than before the coronavirus pandemic," said an official at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

A total of 97.3% of graduates who sought jobs were employed as of April 1, the third highest figure on record since 1997, when the government started collecting such data, according to the labor and education ministries.