VIDEO: Rally Sends Japanese Students On Jobs Hunt

More than 1,000 Japanese students chanted songs, clapped hands and swayed to blaring music on Thursday as they pepped themselves up to start looking for jobs in a deepening recession.

The global financial crisis has pushed Japan's unemployment rate to a three-year high as companies slash costs by laying off workers. Students are also expected to bear the brunt of the recession as companies cut new hires.

The rowdy gathering of students, all dressed in standard job-seekers' attire of a black suit, was organised by a group of vocational schools. The annual event is meant to energise students before their job hunt.

Despite the festive mood, however, the students at the event in an outdoor auditorium of a central Tokyo park admitted they faced a tough challenge ahead.

"I'm a bit worried because we're in this deep recession and I often hear that companies are hiring fewer people while more people are applying to certain companies," said Yoshikazu Takhashi, 19.

Takahashi has applied to five companies, but has yet to land a job offer.

Japanese companies, once flush with cash, have hired college students aggressively over the past four years as they tried to fill a gaping hole from retiring baby-boomers.

But the tide has turned.

The global economic slump since late last year has virtually frozen Japanese exports and production of cars and electronics, and the economy is seen headed for its longest recession in modern times.

Many companies are now considering cutting graduate recruitment and some have even retracted job offers for work starting in April, sending students scrambling for new employers.

For Ayana Oizumi, the music and cheers at the rally did little to soothe her worries about her future after graduation.

"I don't even know if I can get a job soon," said Oizumi, 19, who has given up on her dream of working for a financial company.

"I'm just so worried about everything now.

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