Estimated 770,000 people who want to work but cannot work March 22, 21:06

"I can't see the predicament of women and the elderly who lost their jobs due to the corona sickness,"

said one expert in an interview.

It is said that there are many cases where people who are unemployed and lose their income and have difficulty living are not counted as "unemployed" announced by the government.

It has been pointed out that poverty and isolation will worsen due to the possibility that public support has not arrived.

Spreading "stop working"

"The situation of people who have lost their jobs due to the corona disaster is more serious than the figures in the national statistics," said Professor Yuji Genda of the University of Tokyo, who specializes in labor economics.

According to the Labor Force Survey of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the unemployment rate in January was 2.9%.

After the Lehman shock, it was 5.5% in July 2009, and in June 2011 after the Great East Japan Earthquake, it was 4.7%, so a person in charge of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said, "The unemployment rate has not deteriorated so much numerically."

(Both are seasonally adjusted)

However, Professor Genda points out that there are many people who are not included in this "unemployment rate" due to the corona sickness.

The state's "totally unemployed" is a search for people looking for a job or looking for a job.

For this reason, even unemployed people are statistically not classified as "totally unemployed" unless they are looking for a job.

Professor Genda defines people who are not looking for a job because of the spread of infection as "stopping work" by the person who works, not "stopping hiring" by a company, and analyzes it in detail.

Professor Yuji Genda of the University of Tokyo

"The

reason why the

unemployment rate is settled at a relatively low level is that many people cannot even find a job and have given up looking for a job because of fear of infection. Body. Unless we look at the reality of "stopping work," we cannot see the true picture of those who are in trouble now. "

"I can't work even if I want to work"

What are the circumstances?

A 35-year-old woman living in Aichi Prefecture told me a story.

The woman lives with her husband, a 10-year-old eldest daughter, an 8-year-old eldest son, and a 1-year-old second son.

Originally, as a freelance photographer, I undertook shooting for schools and weddings, and earned about 60,000 yen a month, but due to the influence of the new coronavirus, I have no work at all since March last year.

He started looking for part-time jobs around the summer, but he said he was hesitant to apply for some reason.

Because of the spread of the infection, it is not known when the schools and daycare centers attended by the three children will be closed for long periods of time.

Since June last year, the local governments where women live have taken measures to close the school for up to two weeks for disinfection and follow-up if infections of faculty members and children are confirmed at the school.

Currently, he says, "I want to avoid long-term school closures and park closures as much as possible," but he also explains that "judgment depends on the situation," and it cannot be said that there are no long-term school holidays or park closures.

I thought I couldn't say "I can work" at the hiring interview, as I might have to take a break suddenly to take care of my child.

I'm sorry to put up with my child

However, the woman who thought, "If you work from home, you may be able to survive the school closure or the park closure," went to Hello Work last year, but hit the wall again.

Women participated in a vocational training briefing session to learn web design techniques that allow them to work from home at Hello Work. At that time, the person in charge at the consultation desk said, "In principle, you should be able to attend a training school every day. Is the condition for application. "

He added, "Having children may be a disadvantage in interviews at vocational schools."

"It's hard to say" I'm going to take a break for two weeks "suddenly even though I've just started working. I really want to work from home so that I can work properly even if I'm closed. I haven't set the starting line there yet. I want to work, but I can't work, and I'm really stressed and anxious every day. "

When they made money, women bought all of their children's school supplies and clothes and paid part of their rent.

Now I'm making ends meet with my husband's income and withdrawal of savings, but the pain of my household is increasing.

I want to buy new stationery for children in the new school year.

When I saw cute stationery, my eldest daughter, 10 years old, asked me "I like it".

However, he says that he has stopped saying anything because of the circumstances of his family.

"Now I have all the children put up with it. I'm sorry every time I say,'Sorry, mom, I can't buy it because I'm not working now.' I'm supposed to be able to prepare school supplies and personal belongings ... "

Estimated "stop working" of 770,000 people

Professor Genda analyzed in detail the data of the labor force survey released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications regarding those who are in such a state of "stopping work".

Prior to the spread of the infection, the “non-working population” who were not looking for a job continued to decline.

Especially since 2015, the number of working women and the elderly has increased, so the “non-working population” has decreased significantly.

Professor Genda calculated monthly estimates of the "non-labor population" without the effects of the new coronavirus and compared it with the actual number of people announced by the government.

As a result, it was found that as of January, the number of "non-working population" was 770,000 more than the estimated number.

Professor Genda thought that these 770,000 people were in a state of "stopping work".

The number of unemployed people in January announced by the country was 2.03 million.

Apart from this, it is estimated that 770,000 people have given up working on their own due to the spread of infection.

Life-threatening when infected ... Elderly women's painful choices

It is believed that "stopping work" is spreading among the elderly.

I asked a 74-year-old woman who lives in Tokyo to talk to me.

My husband, a woman who was an office worker, died about 10 years ago, so she started working as a helper and earned about 100,000 yen a month until last year.

However, as the infection of the new coronavirus spreads, I am worried that if I continue to work as a helper and infect myself, or as a result, infect users, it may be fatal. It is said that he quit his job last June.

Since then, I haven't been looking for a job because of the spread of the infection, and I'm living with my husband's survivor's pension and my own pension for about 100,000 yen a month, withdrawing my savings.

He says that he is able to live somehow now because he owns a house, but his anxiety about his future life will not disappear.

"Some older people, like me, who quit their jobs, have less chance to go out and tend to stay home or trip over the house and get hurt. I'm fine, but I think I'll get sick in the future, so I'm worried that I'll run out of money when I need a lot of money for treatment. "

There is a risk that many women and the elderly will not receive support

According to Professor Genda, many of the people who are in a "stop working" state are women and the elderly who worked in non-regular employment.

He points out that national support measures often target the unemployed and on leave, and may not have received sufficient support.

Professor Yuji Genda, The University of Tokyo

"There is a problem that the suspension of work is not yet recognized by society as a whole, and there is a problem that support for the unemployed and those who are on leave does not reach. Therefore, we should immediately grasp the actual situation and consider support measures. "

How does the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare take it?

When I asked the person in charge, he said that he could not comment because he did not know the details of this calculation.

Person in charge of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare

"I understand that there are people who are refraining from job hunting due to anxiety about infection from voices sent to Hello Work, etc., and people who are not looking for a job because there is no desired job. First of all, infection We would like to thoroughly take measures against illness and establish a system that allows us to work with peace of mind, and at Hello Work, we would like to develop jobs based on various needs such as teleworkable jobs and support early reemployment. "

Understand the actual situation and consider support

It is believed that many people are now giving up looking for a job.

However, the predicament is obscured by the family's income and small savings.

Life may become more difficult if this condition lasts for a long time.

There is also concern that quitting work will lead to loss of contact with society and deepening isolation.

First of all, I felt that I had to understand the actual situation of these people and think about what kind of support they needed.

Reporter of the Social Affairs Department Marie Mano Joined the station in 2011.

The starting place is the Kyoto station.

In charge of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Social Affairs Department, Yuka Onishi Joined in 2011.

The starting place is Matsuyama station.

Covers employment and child-rearing issues.