Graduate Employment and Disparities among Universities since the 1990s

—Timing of Structural Change after the Collapse of the Bubble Economy—

Abstract

After the regulation of the recruitment system was abolished, job hunting has increased. Has the disparity among universities also increased? This paper examines whether interuniversity inequality has increased in graduate employment since the 1990s. Based on the recruitment data of large companies, Japan’s major universities were divided into three groups for subsequent statistical analysis. The analysis of all industries revealed the emergence of structural changes in 1998 and a reduction in the disparity among universities. In the case of megabanks, the gap between universities narrowed because recruitment was switched to university graduates in the early 1990s.

On the other hand, according to an analysis of leading popular companies, the structural change appeared in 1999 and the disparity among universities began to increase. It is believed that there is a factor in job search in recent years or in the spread of recruitmentrelated internships.