Freeter

Freeter (フリーター, furītā^?) is a Japanese expression for people who lack full-time employment or are unemployed, excluding housewives and students. The term originally included young people who deliberately chose not to become salary-men, even though jobs were available at the time.

Freeters may also be described as underemployed. These people do not start a career after high school or university, but instead earn money from low skilled and low paid jobs.

The word freeter or freeta was first used around 1987 or 1988 and is thought to be a portmanteau of the English word free (or perhaps freelance) and the German word Arbeiter ("labourer"). Arubaito is a Japanese loanword from German. As German (along with English) was used (especially for science and medicine) in Japanese universities before World War II, Arubaito became common among students to describe part-time work for university students.

About 10% of high school and university graduates could not find steady employment in the spring of 2000, and a full 50% of those who could find a job left within three years after employment. The employment situation is worse for the youngest freeters.

From 2000–2009, the number of freeters increased rapidly. In 1982 there were an estimated 0.5 million freeters in Japan, 0.8 million in 1987, 1.01 million in 1992 and 1.5 million in 1997. The number for 2001 is 4.17 million freeters according to one estimate, and 2 million in 2002 according to another estimate. According to some estimates, there will be 10 million freeters in Japan by 2014.

Many Japanese people worry about the future impact of freeters on society. If they work at all, freeters often work at convenience stores, supermarkets, fast food outlets, restaurants, and other low paying, low skill jobs. According to a survey by the Japan Institute of Labor in 2000, the average freeter works 4.9 days per week and earns ¥139,000 per month (ca. $1,300 U.S.). Two thirds of freeters have never had a regular, full-time job.

...
Wikipedia