The number of unemployed people in January this year reached 1.57 million, the highest after starting statistics in June 1999. Job seekers are looking at a job bulletin board at the Western Employment Welfare Plus Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 10th. / Reporter Beom-Joon Kim [email protected]
Last month, there was a “employment disaster” in which the number of employed fell by nearly 1 million. This is the largest decline in 22 years since the end of 1998 during the financial crisis. The number of unemployed people exceeded 1.5 million for the first time in history, and the unemployment rate broke the 5% level in about 21 years.
According to the’January 2021 Employment Trend’ released by the National Statistical Office on the 10th, the number of employed in January this year was 25818,000, down 982,000 from the same month last year. This is the largest decline since December 1998 (-1283,000 people).
As the epidemic of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) continued, the number of employed people continued to jump. Just after the first outbreak of Corona 19, in April of last year, the decrease in the number of employed was only 476,000. However, after the third epidemic began in November, it soared to 1 million last month from 628,000 in December.
Chung Dong-wook, head of the Statistical Office’s Employment Statistics Division, said, “On December 8, last year, as the social distancing stage was elevated, the in-person service industry employment hit increased.” The decline in employment in the lodging, restaurant, wholesale and retail business increased from 327,000 in November last year to 510,000 in December and 585,000 in January this year.
By age group, young people in their 20s (-255,000) and 30s (-273,000) were hit hard. Even in those in their 60s or older, which was the only increase in employment, the number of employed decreased by 15,000 last month. This is the effect of delayed public job programs for the elderly due to the spread of Corona 19. As a result, the number of employed in the health and social welfare service industries, which have many elderly jobs, also decreased by 74,000.
The number of unemployed in January was 1.57 million, an increase of 417,000 from a year ago. Both the number of unemployed people and the growth rate were the largest since 1999, when statistics began to be compiled on the current basis. The unemployment rate was 5.7%, soaring to 5% for the first time since March 2000 (5.1%). As of January, it is the highest after 2000 (5.7%).
Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki and Minister of Strategy and Finance said at the 29th meeting of the Central Countermeasure Headquarters for Emergency Economy, “We will respond with full force to the employment crisis by supplying more than 900,000 direct jobs in the first quarter.”
1.15 million unemployed in January,’most’
Worst unemployment rate in 21 years… When the’optic illusion’ of the old man’s job ends
The employment indicators for the first month of the new year have replaced the worst and worst records ever since the financial crisis. The unemployed and inactive population was the highest ever, the unemployment rate was the highest after 2000, and the decline in the number of employed was the highest after 1998. This is why there is an evaluation of’employment disaster’ beyond’employment shock’. One of the important reasons is the delay in the start of 800,000 public jobs for the elderly. Some point out that “the limits of the government policy that focus on only expanding tax jobs have been revealed.”
The first unemployed to exceed 1.5 million
On the 26th of last month, when South Korea’s fourth quarter economic growth rate rose 1.1% compared to the previous quarter, Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-gi and Minister of Strategy and Finance wrote on Facebook as “an achievement that exceeded market expectations.” There was also a self-congratulatory praise that “we laid the foundation for a fast and strong economic recovery”.
However, last month’s employment trend, announced on the 10th, clearly revealed the bare face of the Korean economy. With the third spread of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), the domestic market has festered. In December last year, the number of employed fell 628,000 from the same month of the previous year. It was the largest decline since the Corona 19 incident. Last month, the decline in the number of employed increased to 982,000.
The number of unemployed increased by 417,000 to 1.57 million. It surpassed the previous record of 1.49 million (June 1999). The unemployment rate was 5.7%, the same rate as in 2000 (5.7%), the highest record in January. The number of inactive economically active populations who were not employed but did not make any efforts to find employment was 17.8 million, an increase of 867,000 in January. It is also the largest ever.
“As the illusion of jobs for the elderly disappears, employment difficulties intensify”
The National Statistical Office analyzed that “the main reason was that the face-to-face service employment deteriorated as social distancing measures were strengthened in December last year.” In fact, the number of employed has declined in industries with many face-to-face services such as lodging and restaurant business (-367,000 people) and wholesale and retail business (-218,000 people). However, the manufacturing industry (-46,000 people), specialized, science and technology service (-15,000 people), and information and communication (-14,000 people), which are evaluated as high quality jobs with few face-to-face factors, were also unable to avoid job decline. .
It is noteworthy that the number of employed in the health and social welfare service industries, which has played a role in alleviating the employment crisis so far, declined for the first time after statistics were compiled in 2013. There are many’elderly jobs’ in the field where the number of employed by 74,000 people decreased last month. It is a job where the government pays 200,000 to 300,000 won per month in tax. However, at the beginning of the new year, there was a disruption in the supply of jobs for the elderly, and it was a direct hit in the health industry employment.
An official from the Senior Human Resources Development Institute, a public agency dedicated to senior jobs, said, “Most of them started after the end of January due to the influence of local governments delaying the start of the New Year’s business due to concerns about the spread of Corona 19.” The National Statistical Office reports that the number of employees involved was small as most of the elderly job programs began after the employment statistics survey conducted around the 15th of each month.
Kang Seong-jin, a professor of economics at Korea University, pointed out, “It is a good example of how much the job market is damaged if the’optical effect’ of the supply of large-scale financial jobs is removed.”
“Strengthening corporate regulations raises employment shock”
The government started to prepare measures for Buryaburya. Deputy Prime Minister Hong said at the Ministers’ Meeting (Noxil Meeting) that day, “we are seriously aware of the seriousness of the employment market,” and “we will use all policy measures to respond with full force.”
However, specific measures have not escaped from the expansion of fiscal jobs and fiscal input. Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, “In the first quarter, we will supply more than 900,000 financial jobs and provide support for small businesses in full by March.” Although they said they would try to create jobs in the private sector, they only resolved the difficulties with the two investments, including the new and expanded Yeosu petrochemical plant, and expanded the regulatory sandbox.
Professor Kang pointed out, “In the midst of the Corona 19 crisis, the strengthening of regulations such as the Severe Disaster Act and the Fair Economy 3 Act is also hindering the creation of private jobs, but there is no reflection on this point and policy change.”
Choi In, a professor of economics at Sogang University, said, “It is also a problem to invest a lot of finances and not use them efficiently.” did.
Reporter Seo Min-jun/Koo Eun-seo [email protected]