Hello Work is the public name of the Public Employment Security Offices. Employers can post vacancies at no cost, and job seekers can search and receive referrals and counselling. Specialist branches serve new graduates, young people, parents and foreign residents. Its biggest role in practice is administrative. People claiming unemployment benefit register there and must show they are looking for work, and Hello Work is where employers enrol new hires in employment insurance.
It also processes several notifications that every employer meets sooner or later. When a company hires or loses a foreign national, it must report this to Hello Work. Hiring subsidies, such as those for older workers, people with disabilities or trial employment, often require the hire to come through Hello Work or a licensed agency.
Use for recruitment has been declining as job boards, agencies and direct recruiting have grown, and vacancies listed tend to be local and in lower pay bands. Employers still use it for local and entry-level roles, since listing a vacancy costs nothing.
What it means for a foreign employer
- It is not where senior bilingual candidates look. Do not expect to fill a management or specialist role through Hello Work.
- You will deal with it anyway. Employment insurance enrolment and foreign-national employment reports go through it, including for senior hires.
- Check subsidy conditions before you hire. Some subsidies are lost if the person was not referred through the required channel.
- Read its statistics with care. The national job-to-applicant ratio reflects Hello Work's own listings and registrants, not the whole market.
Sources
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Public Employment Security Offices (544 offices as of April 2025, as reported by Nikkei, 2025).
- Employment Insurance Act.
- Act on Comprehensive Promotion of Labour Policies, Article 28 (reporting the employment of foreign nationals).