With more than 1.1 million people with disabilities working in private companies nationwide, the legal employment rate required by companies will be raised to 2.5% or higher from April 1st. However, only half of the companies have achieved this employment rate so far, and the question is how far they can go in expanding employment of people with disabilities.
According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of people with disabilities working in private companies nationwide is estimated to be 1,107,000 as of June last year, and continues to increase.
On the other hand, only 50.1% of companies achieved the legal employment rate of 2.3% or more of disabled people last year, which is required for private companies with 43.5 or more employees.
In an effort to further secure employment opportunities for people with disabilities, from April 1, eligible companies were expanded to include companies with 40 or more employees, and the employment rate was raised to 2.5% or higher.
This employment rate is scheduled to be further raised to over 2.7% in July 2020, two years later.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare provides subsidies to companies that hire people with disabilities, provides guidance to companies with low employment rates, and if no improvement is seen, publicizes the company name to encourage employment. However, the issue is how far we can increase the number of working environments for people with disabilities.