"High Wages and Benefits NO, Want to Work Comfortably"… Japan's Non-Regular Workers Reach Record High

Japan's '2022 Labor Force Survey' Records 6.79 Million
"No Regular Jobs Available" Contrasts with Downward Trend

When asked why they became non-regular workers in Japan, the number of people who answered "because I want to work when it is convenient" reached an all-time high.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 15th (local time), in the 2022 labor force survey recently announced by the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the number of people who answered that they became non-regular workers "because I want to work when it is convenient" was 6.79 million, an increase of 220,000 from the previous year. As of last year, the number of regular and non-regular workers in Japan reached 35.88 million and 21.01 million, respectively.

This response has steadily increased since statistics began to be compiled in 2013 (4.31 million), except for 2020, reaching a record high this time. Following this were "because I want to earn household support, tuition fees, etc." (3.89 million) and "because it is easy to combine with housework, childcare, nursing, etc." (2.22 million). On the other hand, the answer "because there are no regular jobs" has decreased every year since 2013 (3.42 million) and was only 2.1 million in this survey.

Rejecting high wages and welfare of regular jobs... "I want flexible work as a non-regular worker"

A worker at a supermarket in Japan. This image is not related to the specific content of the article. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Although regular workers are guaranteed high wages, welfare benefits, and employment stability, it is interpreted that a significant number of Japanese prefer flexible working styles and therefore choose non-regular employment. This means voluntarily becoming non-regular workers to work when they want rather than repeatedly commuting at fixed times. The newspaper stated, "The number of people who value flexible working styles is increasing."

Meanwhile, the average number of employed persons was 67.23 million, a decrease of 100,000 compared to 2021. Compared to 2019, before COVID-19, it decreased by 270,000. The decrease in the number of employed persons is clearly evident from the COVID-19 turning point. The number of employed persons, which exceeded 67.8 million in December 2019, recorded 66.64 million in April 2020, a sharp drop of 1.16 million within four months of the COVID-19 outbreak. The number of employed persons recovered to 67.39 million in November 2020 but has fluctuated since then and has not yet returned to pre-COVID-19 levels.

The background of the sharp decline in the labor force is analyzed to be due to population decline caused by low birthrate and aging. The population aged 15 and over in Japan decreased by 740,000 compared to 2019, and re-entry of elderly people into the labor market has been difficult due to COVID-19.

Also, the number of people who took leave for personal reasons last year was identified as 2.19 million. Among them, those who took leave "due to personal or family circumstances" were overwhelmingly 1.45 million. On the other hand, the number of people who took leave "for childbirth and childcare" slightly increased compared to the previous year but still remained at 590,000.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.