Firms providing services for people with disabilities in Japan report low profit margins

From NHK

November 15 2023

TOKYO – Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has conducted a survey on the business conditions of establishments providing welfare services for persons with disabilities, and found that their profit margins in the last fiscal year were lower than the average for all industries, indicating that they are in a difficult situation.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare conducts a survey every three years, and received responses from more than 9,100 offices and facilities nationwide that provide welfare services for persons with disabilities.

As a result, the average profit margin for all welfare services for persons with disabilities was 5.3% last fiscal year, an increase of 0.3 points from the previous three years and almost unchanged from the previous year.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the average profit margin for all industries was 6.2% last fiscal year, indicating that establishments in disability welfare services are in relatively difficult business conditions compared to other industries.

The survey also asked about the number of staff working in offices and facilities, and the average number of staff for all disability welfare services was 6.3, a decrease of 1.1 on average from the previous survey.

Regarding these results, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare stated, “It appears that welfare service establishments for persons with disabilities continue to face difficult management conditions and difficulty in securing staff.

Based on the results of this survey, the MHLW will proceed with discussions on the revision of remuneration for welfare services for persons with disabilities scheduled for the next fiscal year.