According to the Tankan (Short-Term Economic Survey of Enterprises in Japan), large and small firms believe that they are presently facing their greatest personnel shortages in 13 and eight years, respectively. Under these conditions, the number of part-time employees peaked in early fiscal 2005 and the number of full-time employees is growing.
Turning to wages per worker, regular payments have been rising, mostly because of increases in wages for full-time employees, and special payments have also been increasing against the background of high corporate profits. According to surveys by private institutions, winter bonuses at large firms for 2005 will increase at a high rate, surpassing the rise in summer bonuses.