Consecutive holidays planned by major companies over the Golden Week period will stretch an average of 4.9 days, down from 7.4 days last year, according to a labor ministry survey.
The way the national holidays fall on this year's calendar makes it difficult for companies to give employees a long break. The first is Tuesday, April 29; the next three are Saturday through Monday, May 3 to 5.
Unless their companies offer additional days off, people who work a regular five-day workweek will get a lone holiday April 29, go back to work for three days and then have a three-day weekend.
The survey by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry covered 1,232 major companies nationwide.
The ministry asked the firms how many holidays of at least three consecutive days they plan to grant employees in the one-month period starting April 16.
It is the first time since 1992 that the average number of holidays has dropped below five days.
The survey showed that 87.1 percent of the firms plan to give employees several consecutive days off, but 717 firms, or 66.8 percent, said they will offer fewer holidays, while only 53 said they will increase them.
The number of firms that will offer employees seven or more days off plunged from 902 last year to 253, while 51 percent of the firms said they will provide three days.
Manufacturers will give an average of 6.1 days off, down from 7.8 days last year, while nonmanufacturers will provide an average of 3.6 holidays, down from 6.9 days the year before.