Number of people with disabilities employed through ‘Hello Work’ in Okayama increased for the first time in two years

From NHK

9 August 2022

OKAYAMA – In 2021, the number of people with disabilities who got a job through Hello Work in the prefecture increased to about 1,900 for the first time in two years.

According to the Okayama Labor Bureau, there were 1,904 cases of persons with disabilities finding employment through Hello Work in the prefecture last fiscal year, an increase of 149 cases, or 8.5%, from the previous fiscal year, the first increase in two years.

Looking at the breakdown of the number of cases, people with mental disabilities increased by 15% from the previous year to 829 cases, people with intellectual disabilities increased by 3.5% to 446 cases, while there were no people with physical disabilities. .8% decrease to 356 cases.

Companies over a certain size are required by law to employ people with disabilities, and as the legal employment rate was raised to 2.3% last year, the number of people, especially those with mental disabilities, who want to work is increasing. That’s it.
For this reason, the Okayama Labor Bureau has set up a specialized team to assist companies in identifying the jobs that persons with disabilities are in charge of and creating working environments that suit their characteristics.

The Okayama Labor Bureau said:

“Compared to the previous fiscal year when the new coronavirus spread, the recovery in job openings, mainly in the transportation and wholesale industries, seems to have led to an increase in the number of jobs. The number is increasing, so I would like to work so that many people can find jobs.”