Health of university students under job and financial insecurity during COVID‐19 pandemic

摘要

Enrolling rate to higher education including university, junior college, and vocational school in Japan is continuously increasing and was 83.5% in 2020.1 And the number of university students as of May 2020, approximately 2.6 million, is also the largest ever. According to the annual survey conducted by Japan National Federation of University Cooperative Associations from October to November 2020, the proportion of university students working part‐time declined sharply to 72.4% in the first half fiscal year of 2020 from 83.9% in 2019.2 The same survey reported that the earning from part‐time job accounts for approximately 60% of the income for students living with the family and for one‐fifth to one‐fourth for students living away from the family. The decline was observed not only in the number of students working part‐time but in the amount of earning although 61.9% of the university students in the survey reported that their life was better‐off in spite of the fact that one‐fourth of the survey respondents foresaw financial hardship in near future. It is still difficult to summarize the multifaceted influence of the global COVID‐19 pandemic, but university students would be one of the most affected groups in the population. From occupational health point of view, these situations encountered by university students may represent that of nonregular workers in general, on which the pandemic has brought differential negative impact. The proportion of nonregular employment in 2020 decreased for the first time in the last decade, indicating their vulnerability of the job security.3, 4