The rise of freeters and their relationship to the Japanese workforce Essay

The rise of freeters and their relationship to the Japanese workforce and economy - Essay Example The culture of becoming a freeter reached its apex during the economic recession that the country underwent in the 1990s. Japanese companies have always valued their senior workers and prefer them over young graduates. During the mid 1990s, recession was at its peak and as a result, the companies started to become more selective in their recruitment procedures. In the past graduates were trained and promised good employment prospects but after recession, only a few lucky ones ended up with a job while the rest had to face unemployment. The consequence of this was that even though the youth wanted to pursue long-term jobs, they did not get adequate opportunities and a large number of freeters were created. The government also relaxed the company laws allowing large companies to hire part-time employees. This created a huge gap between permanent employees, who enjoyed high pays, promotions and job security and the freeters who worked at relatively low pay scales (Nathan). Freeters have become a growing concern for the companies and the government.