[서울신문] Coronavirus employment cold wave… ‘Involuntary unemployed’ exceeded 2 million for the first time

Closed business, withdrawal, and layoffs surged by 150%
Increased by 49% compared to the previous year, about 2.19 million in December last year
More than during the foreign exchange crisis and the global financial crisis
About 1.08 million people, about half, are the most
Temporary daily job and lodging and restaurant business

Last year, the number of’involuntary unemployed people’ surpassing 2 million for the first time leaving their workplaces due to poor business, honorary retirement, or layoffs. In particular, the number of unemployed workers who lost their jobs due to closure or closure of their jobs increased by nearly 150% from the previous year.

According to microdata from the Economically Active Population Survey at the National Statistical Office on the 17th, the total number of involuntary unemployed workers who had quit work for less than a year as of December last year was 2.196,000. This is a 48.9% increase from the same month of the previous year (1475,000 people), the largest ever since 2000 when the unemployment statistics standard was changed. This was more than in 2000 (1.86 million people), when the aftermath of the foreign exchange crisis followed or 2009 (1789,000 people), when the global financial crisis came. In particular, 49.4% (1085,000 people), nearly half of the involuntary unemployed, were the heads of households (household owners).

Involuntary unemployed refers to a person who quits his/her job due to labor market reasons such as’work closure business’,’honorary/early retirement, layoffs’,’temporary/seasonal completion of work’, and’because of lack of work or poor business’. . In addition, those who quit due to reasons such as’individual/family related reasons’,’parenting’,’housework’,’psychiatric disability’,’retirement retirement/old age’, and’unsatisfactory working conditions such as compensation’ are not considered unemployed involuntarily. Does not.

‘Completion of temporary/seasonal work’, which means temporary work or seasonal work, was the most common at 1.15,000. This was followed by’no work or poor business’ (485,000 people),’honorary/early retirement, layoffs’ (347,000 people), and’workplace closure business’ (259,000 people).

However, in terms of the year-on-year growth rate, last year’s’work closure business’ and’honorary/early retirement and layoffs’ recorded 149.0% and 129.8%, respectively, more than twice as high as in 2019. This means that the number of cases of job loss due to the disappearance of jobs or closures last year increased sharply. Likewise, as the economy became difficult, the number of office workers who chose honorary retirement or early retirement instead of retirement at retirement age, or were laid off altogether, increased. In addition,’because of no work or poor business’ and’completion of temporary and seasonal work’ increased by 42.6% and 25.6%, respectively.

The impact of involuntary unemployment was mainly directed at the underprivileged. Prior to unemployment, the number of temporary workers was the highest at 885,000. Temporary workers had the largest job loss at 74.0% due to’completion of temporary and seasonal work’. This was followed by daily workers (51 million) and regular workers (400,000). Among the self-employed, there were 210,000’self-employed without employees’, more than’self-employed with 41,000 employees’. In addition, 12.5% ​​of involuntary unemployed workers were unemployed in the lodging and restaurant businesses hit by Corona 19, the highest proportion. It is said that a lot of involuntary unemployment occurred mainly due to temporary and daily jobs and small business owners who ran alone without employees.

Reporter Sejong Na Sang-hyun [email protected]