Part 1 Present State of Youths in Japan
Chapter 4 Youth Labor
Section 1 Youth Workforce
(Maternal and Child Health Status)
The population of young people aged 15 to 29 in 2002 (annual average) was 24,790,000, of which 14,880,000 (60.0%) were in the workforce (total of employed and unemployed persons aged 15 or over). The youth workforce accounted for 22.2% of the total national workforce (66,890,000).
By age group, there were 1.25 million in the 15 to 19 age group in the workforce, 5.71 million in the 20 to 24 group, and 7.92 million in the 25 to 29 group. From the previous year, there were decreases in every group; 60,000 less in the 15 to 19 group, 290,000 less in the 20 to 24 group and 340,000 less in the 25 to 29 group.
Section2 Youth Employment
(Overview of Working Status)
The number of youth workers aged 15 to 29 in 2002 (annual average) was 13,610,000, which is 710,000 less than the previous year. The percentage of the youth to all workers (63,300,000) was 21.5% (22.3% in the previous year).
By working status, there were 230,000 self-employed workers, 290,000 working for family businesses, and 13,030,000 company employees. From the previous year, there were 20,000 fewer self-employed workers, 20,000 fewer family business workers, and 660,000 fewer company employees.
Industries that have relatively more young workers were "services," "wholesale/retail and food services" and "manufacturing," all together accounting for more than three quarters of the total.
Occupations in which relatively more young people are engaged were "manufacturing/laborer posts" and "clerical (office) worker posts," all together accounting for nearly 50% of the total.
(Overview of Employment)
The number of young people in employment in 2002 (annual average) was 13,030,000. By age group, there were 1.05 million workers aged 15 to 19, 5.01 million in the 20 to 24 group and 6.97 million in the 25 to 29 group.
The employment status of youths by size of company in non-agriculture and forestry industries shows that the largest share of youth workers (3.99 million) was in companies with 1 to 29 employees (4.15 million in the previous year), 2.55 million (2.63 million) in companies with 100 to 499 employees, 2.24 million (2.35 million) in companies with 30 to 99 employees, 2.20 million (2.52 million) in companies with 1,000 and more employees, and 0.84 million (0.87 million) in companies with 500 to 999 employees. Those working for public offices came to 0.99 million (1.01 million).
Section3 Employment of New Graduates
(Employment of Junior High Graduates)
Of the 1,365,471 junior high school graduates of March 2002 (698,440 males and 667,031 females), the newly employed (including those who both advanced to upper schools and started to work) were 12,300 (9,016 males and 3,284 females), down 2,494 (16.9%) from the previous year (14,794). The employment rate was 0.9%, down by 0.1 point from the previous year.
(Employment of High School Graduates)
Of the 1,314,809 high school graduates of March 2002 (655,641 males and 659,168 females), the newly employed were 224,692 (125,441 males and 99,251 females), down 19,813 (8.1%) than the previous year (244,505). The employment rate was 17.1%, down 1.3 % from the previous year (18.4%).
(Employment of Graduates from Universities, Junior Colleges and Technical Colleges)
Of the 547,711 university graduates in March 2002 (333,407 males and 214,304 females), the newly employed were 311,495 (183,014 males and 128,481 females), down 976 (0.3%) over the previous year (312,471). By gender, there were 4,565 fewer male workers (2.4%) and 3,589 more females (2.9%).
The number of newly employed junior college graduates was 78,779 (5,655 males and 73,124 females), and that of newly employed technical graduates was 5,479 (4,320 males and 1,159 females), 13,893 less and 341 less from the previous year (92,672 junior college graduates and 5,820 technical college graduates), respectively.
(Youth Unemployment)
The number of unemployed youth aged 15 to 29 in 2002 (annual average) was 1.25 million. By age group, there were 160,000 unemployed persons in the 15 to 19 age group, 530,000 in the 20 to 24 age group, and 560,000 in the 25 to 29 age group.
The unemployment rate of youths was 12.8% in the 15 to 19 age group, 9.3% in the 20 to 24 age group, and 7.1% in the 25 to 29 age group. From the previous year, there were increases in every age group, 0.6% in the 15 to 19 group, 0.3% in the 20 to 24 group, and 0.4% in the 25 to 29 group.
In comparison to 1990 data, the lowest ever in recent years, the unemployment rate of all age groups has increased by 3.3%, and that of the youth has increased by 6.2% in the 15 to 19 group, 5.6% in the 20 to 24 group, and 4.4% in the 25 to 29 group, all remaining at very high rates. (Figure 9)
Figure 9 Unemployment Rate of Young People
| Source: | "Labor Force Survey," Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications |
Section 4 Job-Leaving Ratio
(Job Leaving by Young Workers)
There were 2,955,000 young workers under 30 who left their jobs in companies with more than 5 employees in 2001 (1,276,000 male and 1,679,000 female workers).
The job-leaving rate of young workers under 30 was 26.1% (20.3% for males and 33.4% for females), higher than that of total workers, which was 16.9% (13.9% for males and 21.6% for females). The biggest reason for leaving jobs was "personal reasons," with 78.7% among males and 84.1% among female.
(Job Leaving of New Graduates)
From the job-leaving rate of new graduates by length of service, the rate of leaving jobs within one year of employment was 49.8% among junior high graduates of March 2001 (49.8% for males and 49.5% for females), 25.7% among high school graduates (24.3% for males and 27.4% for females). The three year trend after the new employment as shown in the job-leaving data of graduates of March 1999 reveals that 45.4% of junior high graduates left their jobs in their first year, 14.3% in the second year (59.7% in total), and 8.8% in the third year (68.5% in total). Among high school graduates, 24.0% left their jobs in the first year, 14.6% in the second year (38.6% in total) and 9.6% in the third year (48.3% in total). It thus follows that a higher percentage of both junior high and high school graduates left their jobs in their first year, and among junior high graduates in particular, the job-leaving rate in the first year exceeded 40%. Within three years of starting employment, 70% of all junior high graduates, and more than 40% of high school graduates left their jobs.
Section 5 Working Conditions
(Wages)
The average normal salary (wages) for June 2002 was 336,200 yen for males and 223,600 yen for females. As for young workers, it was 144,200 yen for males under 18, 168,300 yen for those aged 18 to 19, 199,700 yen for those aged 20 to 24, and 241,000 yen for those aged 25 to 29. As for female workers, it was 131,100 yen for females under 18, 158,200 yen for those aged 18 to 19, 187,100 yen for those aged 20 to 24, and 212,900 yen for those aged 25 to 29. Table 10 shows the wages by age group.
Figure 10 Wages by Age Group
| Notes: | 1. Figures are normal salaries for June 2002 in private business establishments with 10 or more employees. 2. Normal salaries are obtained by subtracting the payment for overtime work from scheduled cash payment (before tax). 3. Excluding part-time workers. 4. Average figures are obtained by including workers aged 30 or older. |
| Source: | "Basic Survey on Wage Structure," Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare |
(Starting Salaries)
As for starting salaries of new graduates of March 2002 by academic level, it was 198,500 yen for male university graduates, 169,500 yen for technical college and junior college graduates, 157,500 yen for high school graduates, and 141,900 yen for junior high graduates. As for female workers, it was 188,800 yen for university graduates, 164,300 yen for technical and junior college graduates, 148,800 yen for high school graduates, and 125,700 yen for junior high graduates. (Table 8)
Table 8 Starting Salaries and Annual Changes by Educational Background
| Notes: | Starting salaries were obtained by subtracting commuter allowance from the normal salary as of June of new graduates from every March who regularly commute to private business establishments with 10 or more employees. |
| Source: | Basic Survey on Wage Structure, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare |
(Working Hours and Holidays)
The average normal weekly working hours per worker in 2002 (normal working hours per week as set forth in working regulations) was 38 hours 52 minutes (38 hours 43 minutes in the previous year). By size of company, it was 38 hours 30 minutes in companies with more than 1,000 employees (38 hours 22 minutes in the previous year), 38 hours 53 minutes in those with 100 to 999 employees (38 hours 43 minutes), and 39 hours 30 minutes in those with 30 to 99 employees (39 hours 18 minutes).
By working hours, those who worked "40 hours or less" accounted for 98.7% (98.8% in the previous year), 1.1% worked for "more than 40 but not more than 44 hours" (0.8%) and 0.2% worked for "more than 44 but not more than 46 hours" (0.4%).
Normal daily working hours (hours obtained by deducting break time from the total hours from starting time to finish time on a regular working day as set forth in working regulations) was 7 hours 42 minutes on average per worker (7 hours 41 minutes in the previous year).
The penetration ratio of the 5-day work week system in 2002 was at 90.3% in terms of number of applying companies (91.6% in the previous year) and 94.0% in terms of number of workers to whom it applied (95.0%).
The number of paid holidays granted to workers in 2002 (carried over days excluded) was 18.1 days per person on average (18.0 days in the previous year), of which days actually consumed by workers was 8.8 days (8.9 days), resulting in 48.4% of the acquisition rate (percentage of consumed days to granted days) (49.5% in the previous year).