Photo = Yonhap News
The number of unemployed people who lost their job last month and applied for unemployment benefits was 212,000. It is the largest in history with a monthly record. The third epidemic of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), which has continued since the end of last year, and the end of the usual year-end contract, and most of the public job programs ended in December.
According to the’Labor Market Trends in January Employment Administration Statistics’ released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 8th, the number of employment insurance subscribers last month was 13835,000, an increase of only 151,000 from the same month last year. It is the minimum increase in 8 months since May last year (+155,000 people), when the post-storm of the first corona19 epidemic was the most intense, and at the same time the minimum increase since the increase of 138,000 people in February 2004. Employment insurance subscribers have increased steadily every month since the low in May of last year, and increased to 394,000 in November. However, as the government and local governments ended their public job programs in December, the number of employees increased to 239,000.
“The employment trend of the past month reflects the fact that the third epidemic period of the corona 19 was long and the quarantine measures were carried out with high intensity,” said Kim Young-joong, head of the employment policy department. Considering the pattern, it is identified as similar to that of April-May last year.”
The decline in the increase in employment insurance subscribers was largely affected by the contraction of the service industry due to the termination of public job programs and strengthening social distancing. Last month, the number of subscribers to employment insurance in the service industry was 9433,000, an increase of 142,000 from the same month last year. Compared to last year’s November, which increased by more than 410,000 people compared to the same month of the previous year, a third was cut in just two months. This is the effect of the end of the public job program. The number of public administration subscribers with many public jobs increased from 205,000 in November of last year to +62,000 in December, followed by an increase of only 29,000 last month.
The number of public administration jobs is one of the areas that have the greatest impact on the increase or decrease of total employment insurance subscribers. Until the second quarter of last year, the public job program was also suspended due to the impact of Corona 19, but resumed in the third quarter, improving the statistics on employment administration. Then, as the government and local governments’ public job programs ended at the end of the year, the overall employment indicators also deteriorated. This is why short-term public job projects continue to point out that they are distorting employment indicators.
Accommodation and food service, business service, and arts and sports industries, which had been struggling all year round last year, were intensified by the third coronavirus outbreak at the end of the year. In the lodging and food industry alone, 54,000 jobs were reduced, and 20,000 and 9,000 employment insurance subscribers disappeared in the business service and arts and sports industries, respectively. When looking at the number of tourists entering the country that are directly connected to the lodging industry, it plunged 99.1% from 1235,000 as of November 2019 to 12,000 in November of last year.
As demand for quarantine supplies increased and non-face-to-face activities increased, the number of employment insurance subscribers in the manufacturing industry continued to improve. Manufacturing jobs fell from -65,000 in July of last year to a low of -65,000 people, continuing to reduce the rate of deceleration, decreasing by 13,000 last month. Increasing demand for quarantine supplies such as masks led to an increase in jobs in the textile industry, and increased production of plastic packaging containers and sales of air purifiers, which led to an increase in the number of employment insurance subscribers in the rubber and plastics industry and machinery equipment industry.
By age, the number of subscribers under the age of 29 turned to decline again. The number of subscribers under the age of 29, which decreased by 22,000 in September last year, maintained a slight increase to +3,000 in October, +17,000 in November, and +2,000 in December, but decreased by 25,000 last month. On the other hand, the increase in employment insurance subscribers aged 60 and over declined, but the increase was 140,000 last month, the largest increase in all age groups.
The number of new applicants for unemployment benefits reached 212,000. The number of people increased by 38,000 from the same month of the previous year (174,000), which was the largest in history. Mainly, public administration (+29,000 people), business service (+29,000 people), construction (+26,000 people), and health and welfare (+21,000 people) increased.
Kim said, “Usually, as the employment contract ends at the end of the year, the number of applications for unemployment benefits increased at the beginning of the year, and the third epidemic of Corona 19 and the end of the public job business have worked together.” Similar statistics are expected to come out.”
Reporter Baek Seung-hyun [email protected]