Unemployment tsunami in the 20s and 40s, the backbone of the economy Are there any measures

(Seoul =-Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jong-Hyun = As the corona 19 pandemic prolongs, jobs, the most obvious welfare, are seriously injured. As far as employment is concerned, the end of the deep, dark tunnel is invisible.

Face-to-face service jobs such as lodging and restaurant, wholesale and retail, and tourism have been devastating since February last year. Pessimism is prevalent that these industries have been hit hard and that it will be difficult to recover to normal even after the coronavirus has passed due to the transition period of the industrial structure.

In particular, as employment in their 20s, which is the first step to the society after graduating from college, collapses, as well as in their 30s and 40s, which are the backbones of the national economy, there are many concerns about the collapse of their living base, the erosion of their consumption base, and the decline in economic vitality.

◇ Unemployment tsunami in the 20s and 40s

The January employment report released by the National Statistical Office on the 10th is the worst since the financial crisis 20 years ago. It is also shocking to take into account the base effect of the increase in the number of employed people in January of last year and the factors that strengthen social distancing.

Compared to a year ago, the number of employed decreased by 982,000, reaching 1 million. The number of unemployed increased by 417,000 to 1.57 million. The unemployment rate was 5.7%, up 1.6 percentage points from a year ago. As of January, the unemployment rate of 5.7% is the highest since January 2000.

The quality of employment has also deteriorated. The number of employees who worked more than 36 hours per week decreased by 7.5%, or 1589,000, and those who worked less than 36 hours increased by 262,000 (5.1%).

Jobs in all age groups have declined, but the decline in jobs in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, which requires active production and consumption activities, is painful. Compared to a year ago, there were 255,000 people in their 20s, 273,000 people in their 30s, and 170,000 people in their 40s. For those in their twenties, since January last year, for those in their thirties since February last year, the decline in jobs has been increasing, and for those in their 40s, job losses have continued for the last five years. It shows that the lower back of the national economy is becoming weaker.

Kim Jeong-sik, an emeritus professor at Yonsei University’s Department of Economics, analyzed that “after the corona crisis, consumption patterns have changed sharply from face-to-face to non-face-to-face, and it seems to be related to the changing trend of industry and employment structure due to technological innovation such as digital revolution.”

Young-moo Cho, a researcher at the LG Economic Research Institute, explained, “There is a side that has increased the extent of the decrease in the number of employed as workers who have endured unpaid and temporary leave for unpaid leave and temporary leave, mainly in the service industry such as the travel industry and the air transportation industry, have fallen into the inactive population.”

Research Fellow Cho said, “If people in their 30s and 40s are unemployed, they immediately lead to economic hardship for the entire family. They are also the age group with the highest propensity to consume, so domestic demand will be difficult to survive.”

◇ “I need to find a way to enhance the vitality of private companies”

As jobs emerged as a hot topic in the economy at the beginning of the year, the government’s steps are accelerating. Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki said, “In view of the seriousness of the employment situation, we will put the highest priority on maintaining employment and providing direct jobs, strengthening protection for those outside the job market, and promoting jobs in the private sector.”

The government plans to provide direct jobs by creating 900,000 financial jobs + α in the first quarter, while expanding the number of public institutions hired in the first half and quickly hiring 4,300 hands-on interns.

Of course, it is essential to lay the job ladder for young people in crisis situations and create financial jobs to relieve the unemployed. However, this is a temporary prescription and it is difficult to be a fundamental prescription. In the end, decent jobs must be created by private companies.

Many experts contend that the government’s efforts to improve regulations to energize companies are insufficient. There is also a need to temporarily postpone various legislation that imprisons business activities or to withhold if not necessary.

Seok-jin Woo, professor of economics at Myongji University, said, “In times of emergency, special measures should be taken.” “If a job is the best welfare, so if it helps employment, various regulations that companies feel realistic pressure should be able to review measures to ease even temporarily. I said.

Professor Kim Jeong-sik said, “It is important to create an atmosphere by making social efforts so that companies themselves can be loved by the people so that the government can write pro-business policies through various regulatory improvements.”

KDI’s Director of Economic Outlook KDI said, “In the mid to long term, along with the flexibility of the labor market, we need to innovate the university’s major system in order to nurture talents who can adapt to the industrial changes caused by the digital revolution.”

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