According to the 10-Year Occupational Employment Trends Report 2026 released by ヒューマンリソシア, professional and technical occupations increased substantially, with engineers also recording strong growth. Frontline occupations posted only a slight increase, while the age composition also changed.
The study analysed employment data by occupation from 2015 to 2025 and found that professional and technical occupations increased by 2.98 million, or 28.3%. Their share of total employment rose from 16.5% to 19.8%. Frontline occupations edged up from 29.77 million to 30.00 million, an increase of just 0.8%, while their share of total employment declined from 46.7% to 43.9%.
The increase in engineers was particularly pronounced, rising from 2.78 million to 3.95 million, an increase of 1.17 million, or 42.1%. The number of female engineers increased from 250,000 to 600,000, while their share rose from 9.0% to 15.2%. The number of engineers in the information and communications industry increased 65.0%, from 980,000 to 1.62 million.
By age, frontline occupations declined among people aged 25–34, while the number aged 65 and over increased. In professional and technical occupations, employment increased across all age groups, with particularly notable growth among those aged 25–34.
Based on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ Labour Force Survey and other sources, the study analysed data from 2015 to 2025 by occupation, age and gender, with the aim of providing an overview of structural changes between occupations.