Half of workers hired by central government institutions based on a measure to promote the employment of people with disabilities did not qualify under guidelines for the measure as of June 1 last year, the government announced Tuesday.
With part-timers counted as a fractional value, of a head count of 6,867.5 reported hires by ministries and agencies under the program, 3,460 did not meet the guidelines. The revision lowers the overall employment rate for those with recognized disabilities at these organizations to 1.19 percent from 2.49 percent. The statutory target employment rate for central government at the time was 2.3 percent.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry compiled the figures after re-examining 33 government institutions, following revelations that the numbers had been inflated, and irregularities were found at 27 of them. Twenty-six of the entities failed to meet the then-statutory employment rate, which was subsequently raised to 2.5 percent in April this year.