The number of part-time workers has increased from 1,072,000 in 2004 to 1,229,000 in 2008 to 1,883,000 in 2013. In particular, the increases have occurred rapidly in small and medium-sized companies.
Among part-time workers, the percentage of workers with the one-year or multi-year contract has increased from 1.8% in 2004 to 9.2% in 2013. However, this is still low.
It is generally estimated that among part-time workers, the percentage of cases where employment contracts have not been drawn up has decreased from 85.7% to 61.4%; the percentage of cases where overtime allowances have not been applied have decreased from 98.2% to 91.2%; the percentage of cases where paid vacations have not been applied have decreased from 98.2% to 91.2%; and the percentage of cases where bonuses have not been applied have decreased from 98.7% to 82.7%. The figures show an overall improvement, but they are insignificant when compared to full-time workers.
The percentages of part-time workers who have signed up for a National Pension (10.7%→24.0%), Employment Insurance (7.3%→20.9%), and Health Insurance (9.4%→25.0%) are all improving, but they are insignificant when compared to full-time workers.
The percentage of part-time workers who have joined a labor union is 0.6%, which is significantly low. The percentage of part-time workers who work at companies that have labor unions which they are not eligible to join has increased in the past 10 years, from 5.6% to 12.8%.