The steady increase in low-wage, part-time workers and those in temporary jobs is contributing to the low birthrate as people become reluctant to marry because of financial insecurity, according to a government report on the labor market released Tuesday.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's annual white paper acknowledges for the first time that the changing employment system is behind the widening income gap.
The report cites a poll showing 59 percent of men in their early 30s who are on regular payrolls are married, compared with only 30 percent of their counterparts with part-time or temporary jobs.