By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
Women in their 30s are the most vulnerable in today's tight job market.
Government policies are focusing on the young or those aged over 50, in many cases leaving female 30-somethings as the first to be let go at workplaces.
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO), the number of working females aged between 30 and 40 decreased by 144,000 in the second quarter, plunging 6.4 percent from the previous year.
Other statistics by the Korea Labor Institute showed that out of victims of job cuts between November 2008 and May this year, 98 percent were female workers. A total of 877,000 females in their 30s lost their jobs during this period.
The loss is partly attributable to the government's unemployment policy that pays little attention to this age group. The employment rate for those in their 20s, for example, fell by 1.8 percent in the second quarter, turning for the better from the 4.5-percent contraction of the previous quarter. The government has been expanding intern jobs to pull down youth unemployment. Small- and medium-sized firms are hiring 32,000 interns, public institutions 25,000 ― and intern teachers total 26,000.
The employment of those in their 50s and 60s increased. Jobs for those in their 50s grew by 3.6 percent from a year ago, and those in their 60s saw a 1.8-percent job increase in the second quarter.
The government's social service project started last month, giving jobs to 250,000 people, with over 70 percent of the beneficiaries being 50 years old or older.
On the contrary, 213,000 jobs for those in their 30s disappeared, marking a 3.5-percent fall, the worst since the first quarter of 1999. Job losses hit women harder than men in this age group, being partially attributable to the fact that the Korean society still sees men as breadwinners. Their employment chances contracted for the fourth consecutive month, as did work for those in their 40s for the first time since the fourth quarter of 1998.
``Corporate restructuring during the Asian financial crisis hit people who still had room for survival, but it is totally different now. The women in the most vulnerable age group are the first target,'' the Korea Women Workers Association said in a press release.
The association argued that the government's plan for creating jobs through mega civil engineering works wouldn't affect women. ``It should create jobs through social service projects such as childcare, education and nursing. The focus should be put on people, instead of the four rivers.''
Korea's ``M'' shape employment graph for women, in which the employment rate goes down for women in their 30s, also explains why women in this age group are vulnerable. Many young moms still have to give up their career to take care of babies due to a lack of social infrastructure for childcare. When they try to return to the job market after a few years, only non-regular jobs are open for them. Amid the global economic slowdown, businesses are dismissing these non-regular, female workers first.
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