Foreigner employment is increasing.
The word “inbound” is being used frequently and there are rumors of an increase in foreigners visiting Japan, but on the employment side the existence of foreign workers is becoming something which cannot be ignored.
According to the “Status of reporting on the employment of foreign workers by employers” announced by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare at the end of October 2016 the number of foreign workers exceeds 1.08 million people, a 19.4% increase compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching the record high since reporting became mandatory in 2007.
Further, with 172,798 places of enterprise employing foreign workers, there has been a 13.5% increase compared to the same period of the previous year, which also reaches a record high.
By nationality, most are from China with Vietnam at a rapid increase.
Looking at the status by nationality, China numbers the highest with 344,658 people accounting for 30% of the whole.
Continuing on, next is Vietnam (172,018 people), the Philippines (127,518 people), and Brazil (106,597 people). Even compared to the others, the previous year’s growth ratio was particularly high for Vietnam with a 56.4% increase in comparison to the same period of the previous year.
By industry, most are in manufacturing; by office scale, most have fewer than 30 people
Looking by industry, “manufacturing” accounts for 23.5% followed by “wholesale business and retail” (16.9%), “accommodations and food services” (14.3%), and “service (not fitting into any other category)” (including worker dispatch and building maintenance) (7.9%).
Further, looking by office scale, offices of a “fewer than 30 people” scale numbered the highest, accounting for 56.7% of all places of enterprise.
The increase in foreign workers is expected to continue
From the flow of globalization, it is expected that the inflow of foreigners aiming to work will continue to increase further.
Also, with the continuation of government efforts to promote further employment of highly skilled foreign professionals and the continuing expansion of the acceptance of foreign workers added on to the decline in the number of domestic workers, it is expected that foreigner employment will continue at an accelerated rate.
It may not be so far off that “employment of foreigners” will become a familiar problem for even those businesses which have thought of it as something unrelated to themselves thus far.
