On the afternoon of the 11th, a notice is posted at the Seoul Southern Employment Center of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. yunhap news
The number of employed people last year fell sharply in 22 years after the financial crisis due to the employment cold caused by the spread of Corona 19. The employment shock had a greater impact on the vulnerable and those in their 30s and 40s, the waist of the Korean economy.
The Moon Jae-in administration, who assumed the “job government,” invested a huge amount of money last year to take various measures such as direct job projects and employment maintenance subsidies, but it was not enough to prevent the worst employment shock triggered by the Corona 19 incident.
Employment rate and increase in number of employed over the last 5 years
Economic downturn 3040, employment cold wave was more severe for vulnerable groups
According to the December 2020 and annual employment trends released by the National Statistical Office on the 13th, the average monthly number of employed last year was 26.9 million, a decrease of 218,000 compared to 2019. This is the largest decline since 1998 (-1276,000 people), when the financial crisis hit.
Since the government compiled the employment statistics, the number of employed people has declined only four times, including in 1984 (-76,000 people), when the oil shock struck, and 2003 (-10,000 people), when the card crisis broke out. This is the first time in 11 years since 2009 (-87,000 people), just after the global financial crisis, that the number of employees employed has decreased annually.
Even so, the worst employment report card was obtained because the government launched an active elderly job program. In fact, while the number of employed people in their 30s (-165,000), 40s (-158,000), and 20s (-146,000) decreased all at once, the number of those aged 60 and over increased by 375,000. Excluding the elderly, the number of employed people aged 15 to 64 decreased to 455,000.
Examples of reduction in the number of employed
The weak link in the job market, such as temporary and daily workers, was also more directly affected by the employment cold.
Last year, the number of temporary workers employed decreased by 313,000, the largest decline since 1989. The number of employed daily workers also fell by 101,000, the worst since 2012.
Other employment-related indicators are also dark. Last year, the number of temporary leavers was 873,000, nearly twice that of 2019 (443,000). It is the most common since it began writing relevant statistics in 1980. These are included in the employment right now. However, if the sluggish economy prolongs, they may turn into unemployed people, or new hiring may be delayed.
The number of unemployed people was 1.18,000, an increase of 45,000 (4.2%) from 2019. It is the highest since the related statistics in 2000. The unemployment rate (4.0%) is also the highest since 2001. Among the inactive population, the number of respondents who said’just took a break’ reached 2374,000, an increase of 282,000 in a year. They have the ability to work, but are not included in the unemployed because they have given up their job search activities.
On the afternoon of the 13th, at the Seongdong-gu Hope Job Center in Seongdong-gu Office, Seoul, officials are looking at job information for companies in the city. yunhap news
630,000 people declined in December alone…employment cold wave likely to continue for some time
What is even more worrisome is that the worst-case employment situation is unlikely to improve for the time being. It is because the strongest level of social distancing measures have continued for the longest time since the outbreak of Corona 19.
In fact, the number of employed people decreased by 628,000 from the same month last year in the last month, which was influenced by the 2.5th step of social distancing and the order to prohibit groups of five or more people. This is a larger decline than in April (-476,000 people), when the employment shock was the worst after the Corona 19 incident. This is in contrast to the increase in the number of employed by 516,000 in December 2019 due to the government’s work for the elderly.
Experts believe that measures to strengthen social distancing continue until January, and this month too, the worst-level employment report card will be inevitable.
An official from the National Statistical Office said, “On December 8th, the social distancing was upgraded to 2.5 levels, and the number of employed in the lodging and food industry has decreased significantly.” It will have an impact on the decline in the number of employed.”
Sejong = Park Se-in reporter [email protected]
The new standard changed by Corona, the new normal of’un·home·sl·on’ is coming.
