[앵커]
The job situation, which was deteriorating due to the corona crisis, was not very good last month.
Although the decline was less than in January, the number of employed still decreased by nearly 500,000, and the decline continued for 12 months already, and the unemployment rate was the highest in 20 years in February.
This is reporter Jo Sung-mi.
[기자]
Last month, the number of employed people decreased by 473,000 from a year ago.
The employment shock that began in March last year has been continuing for the first year after the corona crisis broke out, and this is the longest consecutive decline after the number of employed decreased 16 months from January 1998, just after the financial crisis.
The decline in the number of employed was also better than in January, which was around 1 million, but in February alone, it was the largest after a decrease of more than 650,000 in 1999.
90% of the decline in the number of employed came from the wholesale, retail, and lodging and restaurant businesses, which made us realize the contraction in the face-to-face service industry due to Corona 19.
The number of employed decreased in all age groups, except for those aged 60 and over, an increase of 212,000 people, and the decline in their 30s was the largest at 238,000.
The employment rate over the age of 15 was 58.6%, down 1.4%p from February last year, the lowest level since 2013 as of February.
On the other hand, the unemployment rate was 4.9%, which was 0.8%p higher than in February last year, and it was also the highest in 20 years as of February.
The survey on employment trends in February was conducted after the 15th, when the social distancing stage was lowered, and the government’s fiscal job program started, which improved numerically compared to January.
In this regard, Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki and Minister of Strategy and Finance posted a comment on SNS saying, “The number of employed in the manufacturing industry is increasing for two consecutive months, and the job situation is improving.”
In addition, he predicted that “the employment index for March will show an improvement in terms of vaccination and easing distance and the underlying impact of the employment shock in March last year.”
This is Yonhap News TV, Jo Sung-mi.
Yonhap News TV article inquiries and reports: katok/line jebo23
Unauthorized reproduction-prohibition of redistribution>
2021/03/17 12:52 sent