Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Announcement: "Turnover Rate Within 3 Years of Employment" for New Graduates (March 2022 Graduates)

Hello, I am Shiro Saito! I usually work in marketing, creating content related to corporate services such as temporary staffing, recruitment, health and productivity management, business improvement/outsourcing, and career autonomy.

Recently, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare released its annual data on the "turnover rate within 3 years of employment," so I have summarized it here.

Disclosed Data

In conclusion, the turnover rate has decreased and the retention rate has increased compared to last year!

Data by industry and company size is as follows.

[By Industry]
While "face-to-face/on-site service industries" such as accommodation, food and beverage, and lifestyle-related services still have high turnover rates, there is an overall trend toward slight improvement.

In particular, improvements (lower turnover rates) are seen in education, medical/welfare, and retail.

[By Company Size]
The trend that smaller businesses have higher turnover rates remains unchanged.

This time, the turnover rate has decreased across all sizes, with the smallest scale (less than 5 employees) showing a relatively large improvement (down 1.6 points for university graduates). The results show that larger companies have higher retention rates.

By Industry (University Graduates, Top Excerpts)

Trends by Establishment Size (University Graduates)

The trend that smaller sizes have higher turnover rates remains unchanged, but improvements were seen in all sizes. The improvement in the smallest size is particularly notable.

The improvement in the smallest companies is considered to be the result of more cautious hiring and stronger follow-up, or the influence of an economic environment where it is difficult to quit.

Differences by Industry (High Turnover in Service Industries)

On-site workload, shift work, and low compensation are the primary factors that continuously cause turnover.

Accommodation, food and beverage, and lifestyle-related services have high turnover rates because the structural burden of customer service work and long working hours remain.

While the rapid hiring over the past few years has increased the number of staff in workplaces, it seems that many industries have not yet caught up with improving the workplace environment, and it will likely take several years to establish a more comfortable working environment.

Improvements in Education, Medical, and Retail

The improvements seen in education, healthcare, and retail may be due to the effectiveness of more detailed explanations during recruitment, on-site training and mentor programs, and public support.

In education, in particular, there are cases where early turnover is being curbed through the development of onboarding processes.

Structure by Company Size

Historically, large companies have tended to have more resources in terms of systems, training, and salary, and provide more thorough support for young employees, which has led to higher retention.

While labor shortages are a major management issue for small and medium-sized enterprises, they tend to rely on "person-dependent" responses on the front lines and have weaker retention measures, resulting in persistently high turnover rates.

However, this time, the improvement in the smallest-scale companies is presumed to be due to the effects of more cautious hiring and strengthened short-term follow-up on the front lines, or the influence of an external economic environment that makes it "harder to quit."

On the economic front, it is thought that the rising cost of living in all areas, including food, and the resulting decrease in take-home pay are factors.

Macro-level Factor Analysis for Improving Turnover Rates

① Improvement and Flexibilization of the Post-COVID Work Environment
The progress in developing flexible work systems, such as telework, flextime, and allowing side jobs, seems to be having a positive impact.

For university graduates in particular, the "freedom in how to work" likely leads to psychological safety and contributes to curbing early turnover.

Additionally, I believe the introduction of remote work has reduced commuting stress and improved the retention rate for employees living in regional areas.

On the other hand, some companies, including Accenture, have indicated a return to full-time office attendance, and the number of people whose remote work frequency has decreased will likely increase. That impact may appear next year and lead to an increase in the turnover rate.

② "Improved Matching Accuracy" at the Recruitment Stage
In the field of new graduate recruitment, there is a shift from focusing on the "quantity of talent" to "prioritizing retention rates."

Although there is a labor shortage, recruitment costs for new graduates are rising, and as companies compete more intensely for talent, there are increasing cases where recruitment targets are not met even after investing significant man-hours.

Furthermore, unlike in the past, it seems that more companies are adopting a stance of not forcing recruitment numbers to match if it means hiring candidates who are likely to be a mismatch.

Also, since companies are actively visualizing realistic job content and workplace environments during the recruitment stage (through internships, OJT experiences, video explanations, etc.), mutual understanding is likely progressing.

③ Enhancement of Organizational Support for Retaining Young Employees
Onboarding (initial retention) measures such as mentor systems and 1-on-1 meetings have become common.

Institutionalization is progressing, especially in large companies, reducing the risk of turnover for employees in their first to third years. This is likely because more companies are positioning human resource development as "recruitment cost recovery" and are viewing early turnover as something to be resolved from a cost perspective.

④ "Changes in Corporate Awareness" Due to a Tight Labor Market
Against the backdrop of a declining birthrate and difficulty in hiring, a shift toward "management that prevents employees from quitting" is underway, and the cost of re-acquiring young talent is soaring.

Investment in engagement surveys, pulse surveys, stress checks, and employee satisfaction measures is increasing, and companies are working meticulously on employee care.

⑤ Changes in the Awareness of Young Employees
In recent employment white papers (Recruit Works Institute, Mynavi, etc.), the following trends have emerged in comments from new graduates.

These are very earnest voices."Prioritizing stability in my current workplace rather than increasing my annual income by changing jobs."This is thought to be leading to such behavioral choices.

On the other hand, registrations for job-change sites for new professionals are increasing, and there are several reasons for this.


① More people are looking for opportunities to change to companies with better conditions, such as higher salaries.

(2) Registering for the purpose of gathering information with an eye on future career prospects.

(3) There is a growing trend of people thinking about building their careers, including job changes, from an early stage.

In addition, as "risk information" about the job market is now being shared on social media and through word-of-mouth, the option to "improve the current workplace and stay" is expanding.

As a result, there may also be an aspect where the turnover rate has been temporarily suppressed.

The other day, the Nikkei Stock Average exceeded 50,000, and while stock prices and the growth of Japanese companies seem to be going well, there are issues with how employees are currently being treated.

I believe that not just simple wage increases, but also increasing take-home pay and ensuring that employees can actually feel that increase, is an important matter for the near future.👀

<Aside> Was there an impact from the increase in resignations via resignation agency services in 2025?

For new graduates in the 2025 fiscal year, 1,072 people used resignation agency services, an increase of +267 people from the 805 people in the previous fiscal year.📝

The peak period for requests has also shifted forward from May to April, and the trend of "early resignation and use of resignation agencies immediately after joining the company" is strengthening.

It is worth noting that there is data showing the peak of resignation agency usage is in April (immediately after joining the company).

I believe that early gaps or discrepancies in expectations after joining/being assigned to a position have led to the use of resignation agencies, so I think usage is high for specific needs rather than being constant.

Furthermore, I think the need for resignation agencies will continue to increase. As we are in an era of great job changes, it will likely grow in tandem with the increased fluidity of workplaces.

Also, since a major resignation agency service company was raided by police the other day, the entire industry might settle down for a while due to a review of their business structures.

That is all. Thank you for reading until the end.