出版社：Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training
摘要：Policies and research on labor in Japan have long recognized the issues con- cerning disparities between regular and non-regular employment. At the same time, in addition to the conventionally-recognized categories of workers in non-regular employment—that is, married female non-regular workers, known as "housewife part-timers," and non-regular workers aged 34 and under (ex- cluding married women), known as "freeters"—in recent years there have been a growing number of non-regular workers who belong in a different cat- egory, namely, non-regular workers in the 35.44 age bracket (excluding mar- ried women), described in this paper as "mid-prime-age non-regular workers." The objective of this paper is to outline what kinds of labor policy measures should be adopted in response to the increasing numbers of mid-prime-age non-regular workers, while taking into consideration the differences between such workers and freeters. The results of analysis of a questionnaire survey and an interview survey reveal the following points: (i) Many mid-prime-age non-regular workers are in non-regular employment involuntarily, and many are living in a state of poverty; (ii) Many mid-prime-age non-regular workers have experience of regular employment, and a significant number of such workers left their regular employment because they came up against long-working hours and illegal personnel management practices; (iii) Obtain- ing professional qualifications and making the transition to employment with an indefinite term may help mid-prime-age non-regular workers to enhance their careers and ensure stability in their daily lives.
