Among employees in Tokyo's 23 wards, 70.6% are regular employees, 4.1% are temporary agency workers, and 25.3% are part-time, casual, or other workers. The city has a deep base of regular jobs in corporate headquarters, finance, and IT, while non-regular workers also account for roughly 30% and support retail, food service, and everyday urban services. We look at this two-layer employment structure inside “high-wage Tokyo.”
Employees in Tokyo's special wards by employment type (2020 Census)
| Employment type | Number | Share of all employees |
|---|---|---|
| Total employees | 3,294,831 | 100.0% |
| Regular employees | 2,325,219 | 70.6% |
| Temporary agency workers | 135,249 | 4.1% |
| Part-time, casual, and other workers | 834,363 | 25.3% |
Employment by industry sector
| Industry sector | Employed persons |
|---|---|
| Primary industry | 6,833 |
| Secondary industry | 569,269 |
| Tertiary industry | 3,382,122 |
| Labor force | 4,281,536 |
| Unemployed persons | 151,134 |
About 2.33 million regular employees and about 970,000 temporary, part-time, and other workers
Of 3,294,831 employees, 2,325,219 are regular employees. There are 135,249 temporary agency workers and 834,363 part-time, casual, and other workers, putting the two non-regular categories at about 970,000 people.
By industry, tertiary-sector employment is largest at 3,382,122. Tokyo is a service economy, but that category includes both high-wage jobs in finance and information and communications and a wide variety of work in food service, retail, and person-to-person services.
Regular jobs at central-city headquarters and non-regular jobs serving a huge consumer market gather in the same place
Marunouchi, Otemachi, Minato Ward, and Shibuya concentrate regular employment in headquarters, finance, foreign-affiliated firms, IT, and professional services. At the same time, retail, restaurants, cleaning, security, accommodation, and logistics that support a daytime population of roughly 12 million rely heavily on temporary and part-time workers.
Even within the tertiary sector, wages and employment types differ greatly. Tokyo's high average wages do not mean that everyone has stable high income; high-value professional work and urban service jobs coexist beneath the same average.
How to read these figures
Scheduled monthly wages do not include bonuses or overtime pay. This table alone also does not show differences in industry composition, company-size composition, or occupational mix.
The article is organized primarily around published statistical figures. Numerical values directly observable in the statistical tables should be distinguished from interpretations of background factors.
Summary: Tokyo's service economy runs on both regular and non-regular employment
Regular employees account for 70.6% in Tokyo's 23 wards, while temporary agency, part-time, and other workers still total about 970,000. “High-wage Tokyo” and diverse employment in urban services exist at the same time.
- Regular employment: 70.6%
- Temporary agency workers: 4.1%; part-time and other workers: 25.3%
- Tertiary-industry employment: about 3.38 million
- Service-sector employment needs to be separated into high-wage professional work and everyday support services
Source: Published statistics listed in the Analysis notes at the end of this article
📊 Analysis notes
This article is based on the following statistical data.
- Statistics used: Statistics Bureau of Japan, Social and Demographic Statistics System (Labor) (Table ID: 0000020106, view on e-Stat)
- Area: Tokyo special wards
- Year: 2020
- Data retrieved: June 6, 2026
- Notes: The article is organized primarily around figures from published statistics. Because industry composition, company-size composition, occupational mix, and other factors outside the article also matter, numerical values directly observable in the statistical tables should be distinguished from interpretation.
Chart and table values have been independently aggregated and visualized from the statistical data above.
Table values have been organized from the statistical data above.