A new wave of jobs for Japanese university and high school graduates is emerging thanks in part to reconstruction from the March earthquake and tsunami.

The Bank of Japan released its Tankan quarterly business survey on Thursday. It shows recruitment increased 2.1 percent this fiscal year among new graduates from universities and high schools.

This is the first uptick since 2008, when Lehman Brothers failed, leading to a sharp deterioration in employment of new graduates for the following years.

The survey also finds that firms are expected to hire 1.5 percent more new graduates next fiscal year than the current fiscal year.

The upswing is attributed to the construction sector's hiring for rebuilding after the March earthquake and tsunami.

Another positive factor is retailers' moves to boost new hires due to relatively strong spending on retail items related to reconstruction.

A Bank of Japan official says the pickup is due to efforts by businesses to make up for the decrease in new hires after the Lehman shock. He says he's closely watching whether recruitment figures will continue to improve after full scale reconstruction begins.

Source: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20111216_07.html

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