The number of workers with disabilities at private companies as of June 1 rose 4.7 percent from a year earlier to 474,374, hitting a record high for the 13th straight year, the labor ministry said in a survey report.
These workers accounted for 1.92 percent of the total at the surveyed companies, also a record high and up 0.04 percentage points year on year.
The law on promoting employment of people with disabilities requires companies to raise the proportion of such employees to 2.0 percent of the total or higher.
According to the latest survey, 48.8 percent of the companies met the target, up 1.6 points.
“Companies have expanded recruitment of people with disabilities as they advanced their understanding, and more and more people with disabilities hope to get jobs,” a ministry official said.
The proportion of workers with disabilities stood at 2.12 percent at companies with 1,000 or more employees and at 1.93 percent at firms with 500 to 999 workers.
Workers with physical disabilities accounted for 327,600 of the total, up 2.1 percent, those with intellectual disabilities stood at 104,746, up 7.2 percent, and workers with mental disabilities accounted for 42,028, up 21.3 percent.