By Yoon Ja-young
Good paying and stable employment is disappearing as conglomerates, particularly their manufacturing affiliates, are not actively creating jobs.
According to statistics for 2016 released by Statistics Korea, Tuesday, there were 23.23 million jobs in the country for that year, up 220,000, or 0.9 percent, from the previous year.
The data showed that jobs at small- and medium-sized companies increased by 320,000, while conglomerates shed 90,000 jobs.
The manufacturing industry offered the biggest number of jobs at 4.76 million, or 20 percent of positions nationwide. However, jobs in manufacturing decreased by 140,000, marking the biggest plunge among all sectors.
The employment to GDP ratio of manufacturing stood at 10.5 in 2016, while the services industry recorded 23 and construction 28. The employment to GDP ratio measures how many workers are needed for 1 billion won worth of output.
"Manufacturing is weaker at job creation compared to services and construction," said Kim Soo-hyung, a researcher at the Hyundai Research Institute.
The decrease of decent jobs is likely to hinder the Moon Jae-in administration's plans to boost economic growth by increasing household income.
According to the statistics, the average monthly income of Korean workers stood at 2.8 million won, while the median income was 2.1 million won. One out of five workers was a low-income earner, who made less than half the median income.
The income gap between genders was also alarming. While males earned a monthly average of 3.3 million won and their median wage stood at 2.6 million won, the average income of females stood at 2.1 million won, with a 1.7 million won median income.
There was also a huge gap between salaries of conglomerate workers and those working at small companies. While the average monthly income offered by conglomerates was 4.74 million won, those working at SMEs earned 2.24 million won.
Salaries at conglomerates tend to rise steeply as time goes on, but this isn't the case with SMEs. While conglomerate workers in their 30s earned 4.5 million won per month on average, their income rose to 6.3 million won per month in their 50s. Workers at SMEs, however, earned 2.5 million won in their 30s and 2.4 million won in their 50s.
By industries, finance and insurance paid the highest with an average 5.96 million won per month. Lodging and restaurant work, meanwhile, paid the lowest at 1.37 million won.
Businesses, meanwhile, saw their profitability improve notably last year.
According to Statistics Korea data on 2016 business activities, the net profit of businesses jumped 17 percent, compared with a 0.3 percent growth in total sales. For every 1,000 won in sales, they reaped 58.9 won in earnings, which is 8.5 won more than the previous year.
"Global oil prices fell to $42 per barrel last year from around $50 in 2015. There have also been efforts by corporations to cut costs," an official at the statistics agency said, explaining why corporate profitability improved last year.
By industries, real estate and rental companies saw a 20.7 percent increase in sales, while in manufacturing sales dropped 1.2 percent.
Good paying and stable employment is disappearing as conglomerates, particularly their manufacturing affiliates, are not actively creating jobs.
According to statistics for 2016 released by Statistics Korea, Tuesday, there were 23.23 million jobs in the country for that year, up 220,000, or 0.9 percent, from the previous year.
The data showed that jobs at small- and medium-sized companies increased by 320,000, while conglomerates shed 90,000 jobs.
The manufacturing industry offered the biggest number of jobs at 4.76 million, or 20 percent of positions nationwide. However, jobs in manufacturing decreased by 140,000, marking the biggest plunge among all sectors.
The employment to GDP ratio of manufacturing stood at 10.5 in 2016, while the services industry recorded 23 and construction 28. The employment to GDP ratio measures how many workers are needed for 1 billion won worth of output.
"Manufacturing is weaker at job creation compared to services and construction," said Kim Soo-hyung, a researcher at the Hyundai Research Institute.
The decrease of decent jobs is likely to hinder the Moon Jae-in administration's plans to boost economic growth by increasing household income.
According to the statistics, the average monthly income of Korean workers stood at 2.8 million won, while the median income was 2.1 million won. One out of five workers was a low-income earner, who made less than half the median income.
The income gap between genders was also alarming. While males earned a monthly average of 3.3 million won and their median wage stood at 2.6 million won, the average income of females stood at 2.1 million won, with a 1.7 million won median income.
There was also a huge gap between salaries of conglomerate workers and those working at small companies. While the average monthly income offered by conglomerates was 4.74 million won, those working at SMEs earned 2.24 million won.
Salaries at conglomerates tend to rise steeply as time goes on, but this isn't the case with SMEs. While conglomerate workers in their 30s earned 4.5 million won per month on average, their income rose to 6.3 million won per month in their 50s. Workers at SMEs, however, earned 2.5 million won in their 30s and 2.4 million won in their 50s.
By industries, finance and insurance paid the highest with an average 5.96 million won per month. Lodging and restaurant work, meanwhile, paid the lowest at 1.37 million won.
Businesses, meanwhile, saw their profitability improve notably last year.
According to Statistics Korea data on 2016 business activities, the net profit of businesses jumped 17 percent, compared with a 0.3 percent growth in total sales. For every 1,000 won in sales, they reaped 58.9 won in earnings, which is 8.5 won more than the previous year.
"Global oil prices fell to $42 per barrel last year from around $50 in 2015. There have also been efforts by corporations to cut costs," an official at the statistics agency said, explaining why corporate profitability improved last year.
By industries, real estate and rental companies saw a 20.7 percent increase in sales, while in manufacturing sales dropped 1.2 percent.
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