An initiative to develop a new employment support facility for older job seekers in metropolitan areas

Abstract

This study examined the possibility and necessity for expansion and diffusion of a new employment support facility for older job seekers in metropolitan areas based on health and welfare measures. This longitudinal study assessed questionnaire responses from older job seekers at a new facility established in Ota ward in the Tokyo metropolitan area as a compliment to the conventional system comprised of Hello Work and the Silver Human Resources Center. We offered questionnaires to job seekers at their first facility visit and asked them to return them by mail (baseline survey). Follow-up surveys of the same respondents were conducted after 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks, with questions about demographics, personal status, social activities, mental health, and job search status. The surveys were administered from January 2013 to March 2014. We obtained 128 responses (average respondent age: 63.8 years) from 180 baseline survey questionnaires. The respondents included 82 males and 46 females. The response rates were over 90% for all follow-up surveys. Among respondents, 71.4% had less than a senior high school level of education. The average annual household income was less than 3 million yen and less than 1 million yen for 68.0% and 16.0% of the participants, respectively. The life circumstances were "hard" or "very hard" for 56.3% of respondents. Among respondents, 78.9% indicated that they were seeking employment for economic reasons. Women and those over 65 years of age were more likely to search for jobs for their well-being than men and respondents less than 65 years of age. The majority of respondents indicated that they wanted to make use of their abilities or experience and many hoped to work as garbage collectors, cooks, or apartment caretakers. We found that the main objective of older job seekers living at this facility was economic acquisition. Men and those less than 65 years of age were at particular risk for economic distress, poor mental health, and were more likely to be searching for regular employment. A relatively higher proportion of women and respondents over 65 years of age were seeking jobs for their well-being; a need for social relationships that may be more pronounced among women in this study population.