Japan expects to lose 85,000 jobs
About 85,000 workers in Japan have lost or will lose their jobs through March 2009, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry says.
The newest estimate of job losses marks nearly a threefold increase over a previous estimate less than a month ago, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Sunday.
The number released Friday shows the Japanese job market is deteriorating amid an economic downturn, the newspaper said.
The survey found 85,012 people have lost or will lose their jobs through this coming March, and of them 57,300 are dispatch workers, 15,737 are contract workers such as seasonal fixed-term employees and 7,938 are other types of outsourced hires.
By prefecture, Aichi had the most job cuts, with 10,509. Nagano prefecture had the second highest number, with 4,193.