The majority, or over 97% of new university graduates in Japan found jobs this spring, up 1.5% from the previous year for the first rise in three years, reports The Japan Times citing government data. “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, Labour and Welfare.

A total of 97.3% of graduates who sought jobs were employed as of 1 April, the third highest figure on record since 1997, when the government started collecting such data, according to the labour and education ministries. The academic and business year starts in April for most educational institutions and companies in Japan.

The ministry said job offers are recovering in the tourism and air travel sectors, which were among the industries hardest hit by the pandemic.