On June 17, 2024, the “Global Job Change Survey 2023” Report Presentation, jointly sponsored by Recruit and Indeed, was held in real and online. At this event, we will present the latest research results on employment and wage trends in countries around the world and reskilling (learning new knowledge and skills needed on the job in order to respond to technological innovations and changes in business models) * 1. In the first part, Mr. Yusuke Aoki, Economist at Indeed Hiring Lab, Indeed Japan Co., Ltd., will talk about “Global wage trends and the reality of reskilling,” and in the second part, Yuya Takada, a specially appointed researcher at Recruit Co., Ltd., will talk about “Rethinking reskilling.” I gave a lecture. I will report on some excerpts from the day.
*1: “Global Job Change Survey 2023” Survey target countries: USA, UK, India, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Sweden, China, Germany, Japan, France (in alphabetical order) In this initiative, full-time workers in 11 countries A questionnaire survey was conducted among those who had recently changed jobs.
Global wage trends and the reality of reskilling
Indeed Japan Inc. Indeed Hiring Lab Economist Yusuke Aoki
Yusuke Aoki (hereinafter referred to as Aoki): Many of today’s announcements are based on the “Global Job Change Survey 2023” conducted by Indeed in collaboration with Recruit. In my part, I would like to introduce the actual situation of reskilling in each country, based on the trends in global wage trends.
Trends in wages and prices from a global perspective
A graph showing “wage and price trends” in each country. Bottom left is Japan
Aoki: First, let’s talk about “wage and price trends” in each country. Let’s take a look at the trends in the Nominal Wage Index (blue) and Consumer Price Index (red), assuming 2015 as the base (100). In Japan, both wages and prices continue to remain sluggish. On the other hand, in the US, UK, and Canada, wage increases are outpacing price increases. Furthermore, in the Eurozone and Australia, although price increases have been outpacing prices, wage increases have also followed prices, and in any case, the trends are quite different from those in Japan.
Job satisfaction and motivation to change jobs
Graph comparing job satisfaction levels by country
Aoki: There is another point in which Japan is very different from other countries. The problem is that “satisfaction with work” is extremely low in all areas. It is particularly noticeable that respondents are less satisfied with their “current salary,” followed by “their professional career to date” and “current company.”
Graph about “purpose of changing jobs and important points when choosing a company”
Aoki: On the contrary, there are some data that are common to all countries, including Japan. This is because when it comes to “motivation for changing jobs = purpose of changing jobs and choosing a company”, the item “to increase salary” is given importance. It is quite natural to consider wages when changing jobs.
The importance of reskilling as seen from the external environment
In the United States, trends in the share of job openings for which “employers require a bachelor’s degree or higher”
Aoki: What I would like to draw attention to is that in the United States, educational and experience requirements have been relaxed, and more and more companies are placing emphasis on skills. Following the example of the United States, I think this trend will emerge globally in the future.
Additionally, with the advancement of digitalization, the content of work is changing significantly. Given this situation, the importance of reskilling is considered to be increasing.
Current status of reskilling in Japan and differences from other countries
A graph asking people about “Do you think there is a need for learning or reskilling in your work?”
Graph showing “How many hours per week do you spend on learning and reskilling?”
Aoki: What is interesting about the current state of reskilling in Japan is that although many people understand its importance, the amount of time actually spent on it is small. Next, we will discuss where this comes from.
We asked “What do you think about your future career?”
Aoki: As this graph shows, compared to other countries, Japan has an overwhelmingly large proportion of people who cannot imagine their future career. This may be an indication that while Western countries view learning and reskilling from a “medium-to-long-term” perspective, Japan views learning and reskilling from a “short-term” perspective.
Graph asked about “the purpose of engaging in learning and reskilling”
Aoki: This is the difference between Japan and other countries in terms of the purpose of reskilling. In Western countries, “for the sake of education” is common, but in Japan, “to increase salary or remuneration” and “for the work I am currently involved in” are the top reasons.
The differences between Japan and other countries in terms of reskilling that emerged from this survey are “amount of reskilling” and “attitudes toward reskilling.” Although there is a high awareness of reskilling in Japan, the reason why people are not putting it into practice may be because they do not have a medium- to long-term career image in mind. This is thought to be one of the factors hindering the practice of reskilling.
Rethinking reskilling
Yuya Takada, Specially Appointed Researcher, Recruit Co., Ltd.
Yuya Takada (hereinafter referred to as Takada): From now on, I would like to reconsider our reskilling measures. In a sense, reskilling can be said to be a global boom. However, attitudes towards careers and the structure of the labor market vary greatly from country to country. I hope that clarifying these differences will help realize meaningful reskilling in Japan.
What prevents employment mobility
Graph comparing “wage fluctuations when changing jobs” by country
Takada: First, I would like to consider the differences between Japan and other countries in the job change market. In Western countries, reskilling is believed to be directly linked to career advancement and wage increases, and as a result, actual efforts are being actively made. In Japan, on the other hand, there is a problem in that it is difficult for workers to increase their wages even if they change jobs. Here, this condition is expressed as “unhealthy.” I would like to add that I am not saying that you should increase your wages by changing jobs. I believe that changing jobs is good as long as your goals are achieved. However, if you are thinking about your career autonomously and there is some kind of loss, such as a drop in wages every time you change companies, it is not a healthy situation.
Furthermore, in Japan, the “penetration rate of job descriptions” is low, and there are overwhelmingly many cases where “wage negotiations are not conducted at the time of joining the company.” In addition, there are many cases where employees do not engage in wage negotiations even after joining the company, which may be hindering “sound employment mobility.”
Graph asked about whether the position was raised when changing jobs.
Takada: On a related note, Japan ranks last out of 11 countries for the question, “Did you get a promotion when you changed jobs?” I believe this is a symbolic example of the persistence of ideas and culture derived from “Japanese employment,” such as mass hiring of new graduates, seniority-based wages, and lifetime employment. In the United States, for example, there are many cases where a “section manager” at one company advances in his or her career by being hired as a “general manager” at another company, but I think this is still rare in Japan.
To raise awareness of career autonomy
Rankings by country for awareness and practice of reskilling and awareness and practice of career autonomy
Takada: Let me list the items that have come up so far. As mentioned by Mr. Aoki, although Japan is ranked 4th in terms of “awareness of reskilling,” it ranks highest among the 11 countries in terms of “practical aspects = time spent working on it” and “awareness and practical aspects of career autonomy.” The result was in the bottom. Furthermore, “healthy employment mobility (percentage of people whose wages increased by 10% or more when changing jobs)” was at the bottom.
By the way, Japan is also at the bottom in terms of the percentage of people who feel the effects of reskilling. In this way, differences in awareness and behavior regarding reskilling are thought to have a significant impact on awareness and behavior regarding career autonomy.
Re-skilling calculated backwards from the future
Takada: I would like to take a look back at Japan’s challenges. In Japan, workers tend to be reluctant to change jobs because the rate of increase in wages and positions due to job changes is low. In such an environment, workers are less motivated to design their own careers and have a lower sense of career autonomy. Raising awareness of career autonomy is essential for promoting reskilling. I think we need to reconsider reskilling from this structural background.
If people become more aware of their career autonomy, the fluidity of the labor market will increase, and as a result, the quality of the labor market will also improve. The opposite is also true. Instead of entrusting your career to a company, think of it as “your own.” I believe that drawing a picture of the career you want to pursue, working backwards from that future, and reconsidering the reskilling you need to do now will help you carve out a new path in your life.
Speaker profile
*Profile is as of the time of interview.
Yusuke Aoki Indeed Japan Inc. Indeed Hiring Lab Economist
Engaged in economic statistical analysis and report creation for government, private sector, and judicial institutions as an economist and data scientist at a foreign consulting firm. Current position from August 2022. We use Indeed data to analyze the labor markets of the OECD and Japan, and disseminate analysis results and insights to external parties. Master’s degree in Economics from University College London and Bachelor’s degree in Business Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology
Yuya Takada Specially Appointed Researcher, Recruit Co., Ltd.
After completing his master’s degree in engineering in 2010, he joined the Bank of Japan. Involved in statistical analysis work such as designing estimation methods for economic indicators and making economic judgments. Joined Recruit in 2015. Responsible for planning and implementing data-based initiatives such as analysis and recommendation engine development for formulating business and human resources strategies. Founded Re Data Science in 2021 and became a Recruit Specially Appointed Researcher at the same time. Research collaborator, Statistical Reform Implementation Promotion Office, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications since 2018
![“It wasn’t useless”… Spending a day with Bitcoin [르포] By Bloomingbit](https://i0.wp.com/i-invdn-com.investing.com/news/LYNXMPED9G1CM_L.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 "“It wasn’t useless”… Spending a day with Bitcoin [르포] By Bloomingbit")
