Toyota is hiring a further 800 workers in Japan to meet the higher demand for the Prius.

Toyota has announced it is to hire 800 contract workers in Japan to cope with the increased demand for its Prius hybrid car.

When the Japanese car maker hires the extra staff in October, it will be the first intake of new workers in over a year.

It is a welcome piece of good news for the firm after a troubling year in business. The automotive industry has struggled during the ongoing economic crisis with a drop in worldwide demand for cars and Toyota reported its first ever annual loss earlier this year.

In a statement, the firm said it will centre the hiring process on recruiting former Toyota contract workers. Toyota stopped hiring contractors last June.

Toyota currently employs 1,300 contract workers in Japan and has 70,000 full-time staff.

The majority of the contractors will work at the Toyota Tsutsumi plant in central Japan, where Prius’ are made for the Japanese market.

Toyota said: “The decision to hire such contract employees reflects gradually recovering worldwide automobile sales, encouraged by tax-incentive and subsidy programs implemented in various countries starting in the spring of this year.”

Japan reportedly came out of recession in August, with a 0.9% growth in the economy in the April to June quarter.