Column 　Finance and the Social Security System 　2018.06.29

【Aging, safety net and fiscal crisis in Japan】No.135: Percentage of Employees Using Childcare Leave

In this column series, Yukihiro Matsuyama, Research Director at CIGS introduces the latest information about aging, safety net and fiscal crisis in Japan with data of international comparison.
Employment
Yukihiro MATSUYAMA
Yukihiro MATSUYAMA
Research Director

In May 2018, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare released a report on the percentage of employees who use childcare leave programs in companies. This percentage was calculated with the following formula:


＜Molecule＞

[The number of people who acquired or planned to acquire childcare leave]

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

＜Denominator＞

[Number of females (or males whose spouses gave birth) who gave birth from October 1, two years ago to September 30 of the previous year]


As illustrated in Figure 1, the percentage of women using childcare leave has greatly improved from 49.1% in 1996 to 83.2% in 2017. However, for men, as of 2017, it is as low as 5.14%, but it is rising gradually. In order to compensate for the labor shortages from the rising employment rates of women, it is necessary to increase the percentage of men who use childcare leave.


Figure 1: Percentage of employees using childcare leave
135-fig.png

Source: Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare