An estimated 157,806 nonregular employees, mainly temporary workers in the manufacturing sector, are expected to lose their jobs between last October and next month amid the recession, a labor ministry survey showed Friday.

The estimated number of job cuts during the six-month period represents a 26.4 percent rise from the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry’s projection in its January survey, a finding highlighting the severity of the employment conditions of Japanese companies.

Temporary workers accounted for 107,375, or 68.0 percent, of the estimated 157,806 jobs being lost during the October-March period.

The remainder includes 28,877 contract employees and 12,988 workers hired by employment agencies.

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Nonregular workers who have lost their jobs or will become unemployed during the October-March period number 157,806 throughout the country, more than five times the corresponding figure in late November, a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry survey showed Friday.

The ministry conducted the survey by collating data on nonregular employees from the ministry’s Hello Work job-placement offices and regional labor bureaus across the country as of Feb. 18.

The latest figure is about 33,000 more than that recorded in a similar survey as of Jan. 26, signifying a surge from the figure of 30,067 as of Nov. 25 in the ministry’s first poll of this kind.

The latest survey results mean the number of nonregular workers who have lost or will lose their jobs has increased fivefold in the past three months.

Nonregular employees who were let go before the expiry of their contracts accounted for 41.4 percent of those surveyed.

The Labor Contract Law bans the dismissal of nonregular workers before the end of their employment contract without good reason.

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