Young people continue to face bleak job market

By Kim Tong-hyung

Korean employment grew more than expected in October, official figures showed Wednesday, prompting policymakers to claim they are bringing unemployment under control.

However, much of last month’s job gains could be explained by the temporary decline in September caused by the Chuseok holidays, while a closer look into the numbers confirms that the country’s labor market remains bleak.

Although the annual 501,000 jump in payroll represented a 17-month high, more than 60 percent of new jobs went to people in their 40s, 50s and 60s, suggesting that the employment data was padded by low-paid, casual jobs.

It’s not getting any easier for school leavers and graduates to find work, and a sizable chunk of the county’s population continues to be deemed economically inactive.

The unemployment rate was measured at 2.9 percent last month, down from September’s 3 percent and 3.3 percent in the same month last year, Statistics Korea said. There were still 736,000 people officially unemployed and nearly 16 million more who have given up actively looking for work.

``Hiring was driven by the services industries, such as healthcare and social services. The construction sector appears to be creating jobs again, contributing 41,000 of those in October; and the number of self-employed people has increased as well,’’ said Song Seong-heon, an official from Statistics Korea’s social statistics division.

``The number of regular workers in October has increased by 517,000 year-on-year, while temporary workers decreased by 91,000, which shows that the job quality has been improving.’’

The year-on-year increase in jobs during October was the largest since the economy added 586,000 in May last year. Keying the growth was the services sector, with 141,000 more people finding jobs in health and welfare services and another 128,000 in wholesale and retail.

However, it bears further watching whether the services sector alone will be able to keep the employment rate afloat when hiring in the manufacturing sector keeps deteriorating.

Manufacturers were employing 55,000 less people in October than they were last year, marking the third consecutive month of decline, and it’s unlikely they will show enthusiasm about adding people in the foreseeable future, considering the heightened uncertainty surrounding the world economy.

The job market for young people remains in a deep rut. The unemployment rate for people between the ages of 15 and 29 was measured at 6.7 percent last month, up from September’s 6.3 percent.

The 15.76 million people labeled as economically inactive represented a 0.3 percent annual increase and a significant part of the country’s 41.1 million people above the age of 15.

Critics have long accused the government of softening unemployment statistics by inflating the economically-inactive group.

This group conventionally includes students, those looking after families or homes, the short- and long-term sick and those who have retired early. But Korean officials also count first-time jobseekers and those preparing for civil service exams as economically inactive. Koreans who have worked for at least an hour a week are labeled as employed.

Some economists believe the country’s ``real’’ jobless rate would be easily in double digits when counting the number of first-time jobseekers and those working less than 18 hours per week.