Nearly 75% of university students in Japan who are set to graduate next spring have secured jobs, reports The Japan News, citing research from the labour and education ministries. As of 1 October, 74.8% of job-hunting students had received informal job offers, with the employment offer rate for spring graduates up 0.7% from a year earlier. The rate grew for the third year in a row on the back of the Japanese economy recovering from the Covid-19 crisis and workforce shortages getting severer, people familiar with the situation said. A labour ministry official said companies are showing a ‘high level’ of hiring interest, although the figure was still lower than the 76.8% marked in pre-pandemic October 2019.