Over 80,000 in Japan lost work due to pandemic, labor ministry data shows

Japan Times -- Jan 08

Over 80,000 people have been dismissed or seen their employment contracts terminated rather than renewed in Japan for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic since it began, the labor ministry said Thursday.

Job insecurity is likely to spread further, with cases of the disease soaring across the nation. The government was set to declare a fresh state of emergency for Tokyo and its three neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa later in the day.

The number of people who were dismissed or saw their contracts not renewed, including those who had expected that to be the case, reached 80,121 as of Wednesday, up 320 from the previous day, the ministry said.

As of Dec. 25 last year, the manufacturing industry had seen the highest number of people facing such circumstances, at 16,717, followed by the restaurant industry with 11,021 and the retail industry with 10,399. The totals disclosed also included those who had already found new employment.

Jan 08 (テレ東NEWS) - 厚生労働省は7日、新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大に関連した解雇や雇い止めが見込みも含め6日時点で、8万121人に上ったと明かにしました。 業種別で解雇や雇い止めが多かったのは、製造業の1万6,717人で次いで、飲食業の1万1,021人となっています。 地域別では、東京都が1万9,318人と最も多く、次いで大阪府が6,657人、愛知県は4,696人となっています。 首都圏の1都3県を対象にした緊急事態宣言が再び発令されることで、雇用情勢は、一層厳しさを増す恐れがあります。