#Japan #Tokyo #Recruitment Trends #circusAGENT #office jobs

Trends in Recruitment for Office Positions in Japan

In recent months, circus Inc., a company based in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, has conducted an in-depth analysis of recruitment trends for office positions in the first half of 2025. Utilizing data from their staffing platform, circusAGENT, they aimed to provide insightful information for both job seekers and hiring managers.

Overview of the Survey

This analysis focuses on the mid-career recruitment market for administrative roles, based on job listings published on circusAGENT between April and September 2025. A total of 4,463 listings were scrutinized, focusing on industries with over 300 job postings, to derive a clear picture of the hiring landscape.

The survey indicates that approximately 90% of job openings for office positions are now available to candidates without prior office experience. Particularly noteworthy is the human resources and BPO sector, where an astounding 95.9% of listings do not require previous experience. This trend points towards a growing outsourcing demand requiring substantial workforce deployment on client sites.

Key Findings

1. Recruitment Requirements: The trend shows a significant shift in employer expectations, emphasizing foundational qualities and mindset over direct professional experience. About 90% of administrative job offers are open to inexperienced applicants.
- Industries Actively Hiring Inexperienced Candidates: The BPO sector (95.9% of job postings do not require experience) leads the way, alongside advertising, PR, and mass media (94.8%). Here, the need for trained professionals to meet large-scale demand has fostered a focus on potential rather than pedigree.
- Industries Favoring Experienced Candidates: In contrast, consulting (20.3% requiring experience) and service industries (17.0% requiring experience) are more selective, seeking candidates with advanced skills like numerical management and multitasking.

2. Educational Requirements: More than 80% of administrative job postings either do not specify educational qualifications or require a high school diploma or higher. In the IT and web service domains, the percentage of roles not demanding formal education is high, while fields like real estate and construction emphasize the need for at least a high school certificate.
- Notably, consulting emphasizes higher education, with a significant portion (23.6%) of positions requiring university degrees.

3. Salary Trends: The median expected salary for office positions is set at 3.6 million yen. Experienced candidates can anticipate around 4.5 million yen, while inexperienced individuals are projected to earn about 3.4 million yen.
- High-Paying Sectors: The real estate and construction industry tops the salary scale at 3.8 million yen, suggesting that professionals holding relevant qualifications, such as real estate transactions, might garner higher pay.
- The gap between experienced and inexperienced applicants varies widely across sectors, with significant disparities in IT and consulting.

4. Recruitment Costs: The median hiring fee is approximately 500,000 yen, with a rate of 13.9% across the board. The disparity in fees between experienced and inexperienced candidates is relatively minor, illustrating that the office job market typically operates favorably for employers.

Conclusion

The current analysis underscores an encouraging trend: almost 90% of office jobs are now accessible to candidates lacking direct experience. Furthermore, average recruitment fees remain low at 13.9%, suggesting a favorable market balance of supply and demand. With the rise of AI technology, which forecasts that routine back-office tasks may be rendered redundant, the willingness to hire inexperienced candidates and keep recruitment costs lower might persist in the future.

However, sectors like consulting that prioritize higher education and experienced hires exhibit contrasting trends. Moving forward, there may be a distinct split between traditional office roles and specialized positions demanding advanced IT literacy or expert knowledge.

Circus Inc. will continue to monitor these trends in office job recruitment, providing valuable insights into how the evolving work landscape, particularly driven by AI, impacts hiring strategies, salaries, and recruitment costs. This ongoing research will guide businesses in adapting their strategies within an ever-changing job market.