Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2014 September 24 - 30 [LABOR]

Low-wage part-time workers increasing

A large increase in the number of part-time workers has contributed to workers’ low wages in Japan, a recent survey by the labor ministry showed.

According to the Monthly Labor Survey, the percentage of part-time workers of all indefinite-term workers went up from 20.2% in 2000 to 29.4% in 2013. In the wholesale and retail industries, part-timers account for about 40% of the workforce.

Meanwhile, the wage gap between regular workers and part-time employees has not narrowed at all. While full-time workers’ average monthly wage was 404,000 yen in 2013, part-time workers’ was only 97,000 yen. The fourfold disparity has remained constant over the past decade.

The monthly average of hours worked by part-timers is 92 hours as of July 2014. That of full-timers is 176 hours. Dividing their wages by hours worked, part-timers’ average hourly wage is less than half that of full-time workers.

To revitalize Japan’s economy, it is essential to enable an increase in personal consumption by increasing people’s incomes. The pressing need is to eliminate the current pay differential between regular and non-regular workers by boosting part-timers’ wages.

Past related article:
> Gov’t data indicates contingent employment is obstacle to marriage [September 18, 2014]