Many part-time workers lost income during pandemic

Nomura Research Institute conducted an online survey of about 65,000 part-time or temporary workers during the five days beginning February 8, when a state of emergency was declared for 10 prefectures, including Tokyo.

When asked about working hours, 34 percent of men and 29 percent of women said that they had fewer shifts than before the pandemic.

Nearly half of the two groups say the reduction of working hours was more than 50 percent.

Among the ones who had less working hours, 6,232 respondents were asked if they received any compensation.

Seventy-nine percent of the men and 75 percent of the women said they did not get any benefits, and many did not know that they were eligible.

Researchers estimate that a total of 1.46 million workers nationwide - that is about 1.03 million women and about 430 thousand men - had their working hours reduced by more than half and were not compensated.

Senior consultant Takeda Kana says that there are many people who are virtually unemployed, as they have lost the bulk of their income.

She noted that the real situation should be studied and information about available assistance needs to be communicated by social and other media.