JAPAN'S SHORTAGE OF FULL-TIME WORKERS AT WORST LEVEL SINCE COVID

TOKYO, March 9 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japanese firms are feeling the most acute shortage of full-time workers since the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than half of firms understaffed, according to a private-sector survey.

Among the around 11,000 companies who responded to the January survey, 53.4 per cent said they need more full-time workers, the highest since April 2020 and close to the all-time high of 53.9 per cent in November 2018, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said.

According to Kyodo News, the sector most in need of full-time workers is information services, with shortages of system engineers, followed by construction.

The survey also found 30.6 per cent of firms lack part-time workers, with staffing firms feeling the most acute shortage of nonregular workers ahead of restaurants.

The survey came as economists keep close tabs on whether the robust wage growth seen last year will continue.

Major Japanese firms will soon decide their response to demands for pay hikes by their labour unions, wrapping up their annual "shunto" negotiations by the end of this month.

Some 68.1 per cent of firms hit by labour shortages are planning to raise wages for full-time workers in fiscal 2025 from April, according to the research institute, apparently to secure and retain necessary workers.

Economists, meanwhile, warn that small and midsize companies will struggle to keep pace with bigger firms that have the financial resources to continue hiking pay.

"We have to be vigilant against the risk of more companies going bankrupt due to labour shortages," the research firm said, noting that the number of such bankruptcies hit a record high in 2024.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO