Latest news with #RecruitHoldingsCo.
Los Angeles Times
17-07-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Initial jobless claims decline for a fifth straight week
Applications for US unemployment benefits declined for a fifth straight week to the lowest level since mid-April, showing a resilient job market. First-time jobless claims decreased by 7,000 to 221,000 in the week ended July 12. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 233,000 applications. Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, were little changed at 1.96 million in the previous week that included Independence Day, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. Weekly claims have fallen back toward subdued levels seen before the pandemic after trending higher in May and June. At the same time, recurring claims near the highest since 2021 suggests unemployed Americans continue to find difficulty in securing a new job as the pace of hiring has slowed. The four-week moving average of new applications, a metric that helps smooth out volatility, dropped to 229,500 — the lowest since early May. Before adjusting for seasonal factors, initial claims rose 19,539 last week to 260,900. New York, Nevada and Texas saw the largest unadjusted increases, while claims fell in Michigan, New Jersey and Tennessee. Still, some large companies such as Recruit Holdings Co. and Intel Corp. have recently said they're cutting jobs. Dillard writes for Bloomberg.
Engadget
10-07-2025
- Business
- Engadget
Indeed and Glassdoor are cutting more than 1,000 jobs
Job-hunting platforms Indeed and Glassdoor are cutting their workforce, and it may be thanks to good old artificial intelligence. About 1,300 jobs from the companies will be eliminated, mostly in two departments: research and development, and people and sustainability. There will also be some executive shuffles, including the exit of Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong. Both services are owned by Japan-based Recruit Holdings Co. and its President and CEO Hisayuki "Deko" Idekoba announced the layoffs in a memo. It doesn't appear that any specific reasons were given for the consolidation. However, Idekoba did enthuse about the importance of AI in the missive, which likely didn't make any of the impacted employees feel any better. "AI is changing the world, and we must adapt by ensuring our product delivers truly great experiences," he wrote. "Delivering on this ambition requires us to move faster, try new things, and fix what's broken." Idekoba is already on the books as a proponent of AI use in job searching and hiring. "Hiring is still too slow and too hard, and we're using AI to make it simpler and more personal — for both job seekers and employers," he said when taking over as CEO of Indeed last month. Ironically, he assumed leadership of Indeed when former CEO Chris Hyams left in order to help tackle the "urgent issues" in developing responsible AI tools.
Asahi Shimbun
25-04-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
More Japanese men choosing hair removal to look their best
Signaling a notable shift in traditional grooming norms, hair removal is rapidly growing in popularity among Japanese men. The trend is reflected in recent market data, which shows that the industry has nearly doubled in size over the past five years. According to the Hot Pepper Beauty Academy, a research institute operated by Recruit Holdings Co., a major staffing and human resources services provider, the hair removal market in 2024 is estimated at approximately 63.5 billion yen ($436 million). This marks a near doubling from 37.7 billion yen in 2019, before the pandemic. Although the market dipped by 8 percent on year in 2020, it has grown steadily each year since 2021. Notably, while the female segment has shown signs of contraction, demand among men continues to rise. Although the surge gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic, the motivations behind men's increasing interest in hair removal are varied and nuanced. A 2021 survey by Men's TBC (Tokyo), a leading men's beauty and grooming salon chain, polled approximately 20,000 customers on their reasons for seeking hair removal. Among the top responses: 28.2 percent said shaving was a hassle, while 13.4 percent pointed to the persistent blue shadow that remains after shaving. Takahiro Oyama, spokesperson for the TBC Group, noted, 'Many clients said that wearing masks made them more aware of their facial hair, prompting them to visit.' While mask-wearing certainly contributed to the trend, the continued rise of male hair removal even after COVID-19 was reclassified as a Category V infectious disease raises a deeper question: what's driving its lasting appeal? According to Oyama, a key factor is the growing interest among men in personal grooming and aesthetics. 'More men, especially younger generations, are choosing to invest in themselves,' he explains. 'What was once a relatively uncommon practice is now gaining broader acceptance across society.' Last year, a sociology seminar team at Ritsumeikan University investigated the rise of the male hair removal trend. The project was initiated by team member Sawa Yonekura, who had started visiting a women's hair removal salon a few years earlier. However, shortly after paying the contract fee, the business went bankrupt, prompting her to question why she had believed that 'hair removal was essential to be beautiful.' The team surveyed 107 men and women in their teens to 30s through street interviews and social media. More than half had undergone hair removal, with men accounting for 30 percent of that group. Tomoyuki Abe, who collaborated with Yonekura on the survey, said he had also considered visiting a men's hair removal salon. His turning point came during online university classes: seeing his face repeatedly on screen during the pandemic made him increasingly self-conscious. Even now, taking selfies is part of his daily routine. He and his friends use BeReal, a filter-free social media app, which prompts users once a day to share an unedited, real-time photo with their network. Its emphasis on authenticity, Abe said, made him want to 'look clean and fresh.' Reflecting this rising interest, hair removal advertisements now appear frequently across social media platforms. In the survey of 107 participants, 101 said that seeing an ad was what initially sparked their curiosity. Kimio Ito, professor emeritus at Kyoto University and an expert in gender studies, commented on the growing self-awareness among younger generations. 'More men are shifting their focus from how society sees them to the kind of person they want to become,' Ito said. 'They're beginning to break free from the traditional ideal of the 'macho man.' Beyond hair removal, we can expect increasingly diverse ways for individuals to shape and express themselves.'
