Society

Non-regulars make up about 60 percent of job losses

Jun 10 (NHK) - The Japanese labor ministry says non-regular workers account for about 60 percent of people who have recently lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The ministry says 4,210 people were let go or had their contracts terminated, or were expected to lose their jobs in the week through last Friday.

Of them, nearly 2,600 were part-timers and temp staff.

Non-regular workers make up about 80 percent of job losses in the food-service industry, which were about 1,360.

Other hard-hit sectors include accommodation, manufacturing, retail and entertainment.

This is the second straight week in which more than 4,000 people have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus. The total since January has reached almost 21,000.

The ministry says the number of job losses is rising, particularly in the food-service industry.

It is urging employers to apply for government subsidies to maintain jobs.

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