Buraku Liberation News, November 1997 issue (N0.99)
Buraku Problem Q & A
Lower Employment Rate of Buraku Households
Q: Is there a gap in the employment rate between Buraku people and non Buraku people ?
A: A survey clearly indicates the gap between the two groups. Chart 4 shows the employment rate of people above 15 years old in a household (the employed .€family members.~100) .
For males, the employment rate of Buraku households is lower on average than that of entire households. This is true for every prefecture except Kumamoto Prefecture. When it comes to females, we can see a similar tendency. However, the rate of female employment for Buraku households in Nara and Kumamoto Prefectures are higher than those of entire households.
Chart 5 shows the employment rate in a household by age groups. The higher percentage of those working between 15 to 24 years old in Buraku households can be attributed to the lower rate of students who go on to university as well as to the higher rate of students who dropout from high school. It means that Buraku people start to work at earlier ages.
While there is the same tendency for females between 15 to 19 years old as for males, the rate of employment of Buraku women between 20 to 24 years old is lower than the national average.
Since Buraku women start to work and get married relatively at younger ages, they have to stop working between the ages of 20 to 24 because of childbirth and child care.
On the other hand, the rate is higher between 30 to 49 years old. It is probably because women in Buraku areas get employment in order to supplement the lower income of their husbands.
The employment rate of males over 25 years old in Buraku areas is lower. It suggests a higher unemployment rate for Buraku people. Poor health condition might be one of the reasons for the lower employment rate of elderly Buraku people.