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Abstract
This paper examines the job‐finding process and recent trends in the labour market for Japanese university graduates. Contrary to the common wisdom, graduates have been able to find jobs in top firms even if they have not attended the most prestigious schools. Nevertheless, the recent recession has hit the graduates of the lower‐ranked schools the hardest. Furthermore, in contrast to the recent experience of other OECD countries, the market for university graduates seems to have been more gravely affected than the market for high‐school graduates. Also surprising is the observation that the (mostly male) graduates of lower‐standard natural science and engineering faculties have been more adversely affected than graduates of social science faculties. This seems to reflect a long‐term increase in demand for engineering and science graduates with master's degrees in addition to the effects of the recession.