The number of workers facing shortened working hours or unpaid leave has fallen to 23,607. That was the word from the labor ministry on Thursday.
The new figure represents a drop of more than 2000 workers since the ministry’s last count.
One airline’s decision to stop cutting employees’ hours is a major reason for this drop. However, the number of workers facing shortened hours is also continuing to fall in areas like the hospitality and food service industries.
Not all sectors of the economy are seeing workers return to their normal hours at the same rate.
The manufacturing sector, for instance, has seen the number of workers facing shortened hours grow by 305 since the last count. The labor ministry says this reflects the difficult situation that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed the global economy in. Likewise, the number of workers in the retail and wholesale sectors facing cuts to their hours remains high.