Apr 19, 2020 (Japan Times) - The coronavirus pandemic is reducing the incomes of a wide range of nonregular workers across the nation, according to a survey by the Research Institute for Advancement of Living Standards.
Nonregular workers earn less than most regular employees and many are paid by the hour. This means they were much more susceptible to loss of income when companies suspended operations or shortened business hours at the government's request, the survey revealed.
Of the respondents, 56.8 percent of temporary workers, mostly students, and 52.7 percent of dispatch workers said their incomes had dropped, according to the survey.
Of those with part-time jobs, including many housewives, 49.8 percent said their income dropped.
The ratio of regular workers who had suffered income drops meanwhile stood at 34.6 percent.
According to the survey, some 60 to 70 percent of nonregular workers said they ahd seen a decline in working days or hours.
By industry, sharp drops in working time were most prominent in the restaurant and hotel sector, the services industry and the manufacturing industry.
Many working in the transportation, finance and insurance, and medical and welfare sectors meanwhile said they saw working time pick up.
