Recruitment for Contract Work for Seniors, Beauty-related Fields such as Estheticians and Hairdressers Account for Over 80%

Senior Job Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director: Yasue Nakajima), which supports senior job changes, conducted a survey on contract work recruitment posted on its senior-specialized job site "Senior Job." As a result, it was found that beauty and health-related occupations such as estheticians, massage therapists, and hairdressers account for over 80% of all contract work recruitment for seniors.

■ Summary of Survey Results on Contract Work Recruitment for Seniors: Many positions welcome even 70s with no qualifications or experience.

A survey was conducted on the trends of contract work recruitment posted on the senior-specialized job site "Senior Job" (https://seniorjob.jp/), and the results, including comparisons with all job postings and regular employee positions, have been compiled.

First, we will list four main characteristics.

・Strong recruitment trend in beauty and health occupations, with estheticians, massage therapists, and hairdressers combined accounting for over 80%.

・In contract work recruitment, "Welcome 70 years and older" accounts for 71.7%, making it easy for seniors to work.

・Positions requiring no qualifications account for 83.3%, and positions that do not require experience or allow for re-entry after a break also have a high proportion, indicating broad accessibility.

・While recruitment is concentrated in the Kanto region, the proportion of positions allowing remote work is overwhelmingly high.

This survey was conducted to investigate the reality of contract work recruitment for seniors, following the results of a survey on the increase rate of job postings by region and employment type on the senior-specialized job site "Senior Job," published on February 25, 2026. The survey found that the number of contract work postings for seniors increased significantly by 371.1% from 2023 to 2024.

(※1) Reference Press Release: Number of contract work postings for seniors increased by 371.1% from 2023 to 2024

https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000189.000031414.html

As a comparison, trends for all job postings and regular employee positions were also examined, revealing that contract work recruitment for seniors showed significantly different trends compared to other job postings.

Firstly, there were completely different occupational trends between positions with a high number of contract work postings and those with a high number of other job postings.

Looking at the top 10 job types with the most recruitment and job postings, while essential work such as caregiving, cooking, and cleaning ranks high in all senior job postings, contract work postings feature different job types such as beauty and health occupations like estheticians, massage therapists (acupressure masseurs), and hairdressers, as well as drivers for delivery and transportation, and system engineers.

Especially, estheticians account for a very high proportion of 38.4% of all contract work recruitment, and massage therapists account for 37.4%. Combined with hairdressers, beauty and health occupations alone account for over 80% of contract work recruitment.

Since contract work is not employment and therefore not subject to the Labor Standards Act, there are no retirement ages, making it easier to accept jobs regardless of age. Supporting this, contract work positions that "welcome 70 years and older" account for 71.7% of all contract work, which is significantly higher than the 20% range for all job postings and regular employee positions.

Although the top 10 job types with many contract work postings appear to require qualifications or experience, a characteristic feature is the high number of contract work positions that do not require experience or qualifications, or that allow for re-entry after a break.

Positions that do not require experience, do not require qualifications, do not require experience or qualifications, or allow for re-entry after a break all have a higher proportion compared to all job postings and regular employee positions. Thus, contract work can be considered a flexible way of working that is open to seniors with no experience or qualifications.

Contract work recruitment for seniors shows a strong concentration in the Kanto region at 60.7%, with Tokyo Prefecture accounting for 33.1%, which is a stronger concentration compared to all job postings and regular employee positions.

However, on the other hand, positions allowing remote work account for 11.7%, which is significantly higher than the 1.5% for all job postings and 2% for regular employee positions. Although not included in the data released this time, positions for fully remote contract work also represent a higher proportion compared to all job postings and regular employee positions.

Therefore, depending on the job type, contract work can also be an option for seniors living in rural areas to work remotely.

Although the number of seniors choosing contract work as a way of working is still small due to the instability of their position and income as it is not employment and not subject to the Labor Standards Act, and the overall number of postings is not large, the characteristics observed in this survey—jobs that are suitable for older individuals, positions that do not require experience, qualifications, or consider breaks, and a high number of remote work opportunities—can be said to be suitable for seniors.

■ Survey Results Data on Trends in Contract Work Recruitment for Seniors

The numerical data from the survey results are as follows.

● Top 10 Job Types with High Contract Work Recruitment for Seniors

• 1st Place: Massage, Esthetician, Beauty-related Occupations 38.4% (0.5% of all postings, 0.1% of regular employee postings)

• 2nd Place: Massage Therapist 37.4% (0.6% of all postings, 0.3% of regular employee postings)

• 3rd Place: Sales 9.5% (2.2% of all postings, 4.1% of regular employee postings)

• 4th Place: Hairdresser/Hair Salon 8.8% (2% of all postings, 3.2% of regular employee postings)

• 5th Place: Sales Driver, Delivery, Courier 4.2% (1.7% of all postings, 1.3% of regular employee postings)

• 6th Place: Transportation Driver 3.3% (0.4% of all postings, 0.1% of regular employee postings)

• 6th Place: Customer Service/Sales Staff 3.3% (3.6% of all postings, 1.2% of regular employee postings)

• 8th Place: Engineer/SE (Web) 2.3% (1% of all postings, 2% of regular employee postings)

• 9th Place: General Office Clerk/Sales Clerk/Receptionist 2.2% (2.1% of all postings, 1.9% of regular employee postings)

• 10th Place: Engineer/SE (General Purpose) 1.9% (0.1% of all postings, 0.1% of regular employee postings)

● Reference: Top 10 Job Types with High Senior-Focused Postings Among All Job Postings

• 1st Place: Caregiver/Helper 11.5% (0.4% of contract work, 11.2% of regular employee postings)

• 2nd Place: Chef/Cooking Assistant/Head Chef 8.8% (0.8% of contract work, 4.6% of regular employee postings)

• 3rd Place: Cleaner/Cleaning Staff 5.7% (0.4% of contract work, 0.7% of regular employee postings)

• 4th Place: Nurse/Licensed Practical Nurse 5.1% (0% of contract work, 0.7% of regular employee postings)

• 5th Place: Traffic Control Guard 4.8% (0% of contract work, 1.9% of regular employee postings)

• 6th Place: Childcare Worker 4.1% (0% of contract work, 3.6% of regular employee postings)

• 7th Place: Customer Service/Sales Staff 3.6% (3.3% of contract work, 1.2% of regular employee postings)

• 8th Place: Hall Staff/Floor Staff 2.6% (0.3% of contract work, 0.8% of regular employee postings)

• 9th Place: Sales 2.2% (9.5% of contract work, 4.1% of regular employee postings)

• 10th Place: General Office Clerk/Sales Clerk/Receptionist 2.1% (2.2% of contract work, 1.9% of regular employee postings)

● Age Welcome

• Welcome 60 years and older: Contract work 92.2%, Regular employee 78.8%, All postings 87.3%

• Welcome 70 years and older: Contract work 71.7%, Regular employee 24.8%, All postings 27.5%

● Experience/Qualifications

• No experience required: Contract work 78.5%, Regular employee 60.6%, All postings 71.7%

• No qualifications required: Contract work 83.3%, Regular employee 44.5%, All postings 59.9%

• No experience or qualifications required: Contract work 65.6%, Regular employee 29.3%, All postings 47.3%

• Break in employment OK: Contract work 77.4%, Regular employee 35.9%, All postings 33.8%

● Other Recruitment (Job Posting) Features

• Resort Area: Contract work 0.1%, Regular employee 0.8%, All postings 0.7%

• Dormitory/Company Housing Available: Contract work 3.7%, Regular employee 6%, All postings 3.9%

• Telework/Remote Work/Home Office OK: Contract work 11.7%, Regular employee 2%, All postings 1.5%

● Recruitment (Job Posting) Areas

・Hokkaido/Tohoku: Contract work 2.6%, Regular employee 12.7%, All postings 12.3%

・Kanto: Contract work 60.7%, Regular employee 34.8%, All postings 38.6%

・Hokuriku/Koshinetsu: Contract work 2.6%, Regular employee 6.5%, All postings 6%

・Tokai: Contract work 11.2%, Regular employee 10.8%, All postings 10.7%

・Kansai: Contract work 15.5%, Regular employee 15.9%, All postings 16.3%

・Chugoku: Contract work 3.9%, Regular employee 5.7%, All postings 4.9%

・Shikoku: Contract work 1.5%, Regular employee 3.4%, All postings 2.8%

・Kyushu/Okinawa: Contract work 3.1%, Regular employee 10.6%, All postings 8.9%

● Prefectures with High Number of Recruitment (Job Posting) Cases

• Saitama Prefecture: Contract work 8.7%, Regular employee 5.8%, All postings 5.9%

• Chiba Prefecture: Contract work 8%, Regular employee 4.4%, All postings 5%

• Tokyo Metropolis: Contract work 33.1%, Regular employee 13.9%, All postings 15.4%

• Kanagawa Prefecture: Contract work 11.8%, Regular employee 6.3%, All postings 7.5%

• Aichi Prefecture: Contract work 9.1%, Regular employee 5.6%, All postings 5.3%

• Osaka Prefecture: Contract work 11.6%, Regular employee 7.4%, All postings 7.7%

● Reference: Other Data

• Job posting ratio by employment type: Regular employee 37.5%, Contract employee 6.4%, Part-time/Full-time employee 52.6%, Temporary staff 2.4%, Contract work 1%

■ Survey Overview

Survey on trends in contract work recruitment posted on a senior-specialized job site

• Survey Date: March 18, 2026

• Survey Organization: In-house survey

• Survey Target: Contract work postings listed on the senior-specialized job site "Senior Job" as of March 18, 2026, totaling 735 cases (※2) (※3)

• Target Region: Nationwide

• Survey Method: Trends for the above survey targets were investigated, and a comparative survey was conducted with all job postings and regular employee postings as of the same survey date.

(※2) The survey target is contract work recruitment. For comparison, all job postings (70,487 cases) and regular employee postings (26,442 cases) as of March 18, 2026, were also surveyed. These survey targets do not include postings from companies that have withdrawn their postings or canceled their registration after previously posting jobs, but they do include postings for which recruitment has been suspended.

(※3) The number of recruitment cases and job postings was aggregated using the job search function of the senior-specialized job site "Senior Job" to count the number of recruitment cases and job postings displayed in the results.

■ About the Senior-Specialized Job Site "Senior Job"

Opened in August 2022 as a job site specializing in seniors aged 50 and over. Only companies that agree to target mainly those aged 50 and over can post jobs. The site is equipped with features that allow seniors to apply and job search with peace of mind, such as information on senior employment, including the average age of hiring companies and the number of employees in their 50s, 60s, and 70s and above. For hiring companies, there is no initial fee and a success-based fee system; they can use the service to post any number of jobs for free until a hiring decision is made.

Seniors looking for jobs and HR managers at companies considering hiring senior talent are encouraged to register and inquire through the site.

• Seniors looking for jobs: https://seniorjob.jp/

• For corporate HR managers: https://seniorjob.jp/landing/client/

【Company Profile】

Representative: Representative Director Yasue Nakajima

Headquarters: Sekisaku Building 8F, 2-5-22 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

URL: https://corp.senior-job.co.jp/

Business Content: Providing human resource business services for seniors

Operated Sites:

Senior Job: https://seniorjob.jp/

Senior Job Agent: https://senior-job.co.jp/

Senior Job Connect: https://connect.seniorjob.jp/landing/

Senior Recruitment Magazine: https://seniorjob.jp/landing/client/recruit-guide/

Senior Times: https://senior-job.co.jp/magazine/

Please download the PDF of the press release from here.

d31414-193-bf2fd63f916c617c2e54d1584677effb.pdf

Inquiries regarding this matter

Senior Job Co., Ltd. Public Relations Department, Abiko

TEL: 080-4107-5851 e-mail: m-abiko@senior-job.co.jp