Public sector to hire 30,000 in 1st half

By Yoon Ja-young

Creating jobs is the government’s biggest priority, and the public sector is set to hire around 30,000 new employees in the first half of the year while spending 5.7 trillion won in the first quarter for job creation. These measures are part of the government’s plan to sustain the job market which is facing the negative impacts of corporate restructuring.

“Managers in charge of job creation will be designated in each ministry. Every ministry should take job creation as their mission,” Strategy and Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said at an economy-related ministers’ meeting, Wednesday.

The remark comes amid worsening job market conditions. According to Statistics Korea, the number of jobless people surpassed 1 million last year for the first time. Youth unemployment is even more serious. It has been rising to record highs for two consecutive years, reaching 9.8 percent in December.

Of the 30,000 public sector jobs, 12,000 will be created by March in the police force, teaching and other government sectors.

The government allocated 17.1 trillion won of the budget to job creation, the biggest ever. It plans to execute one third of the budget in the first quarter, to prevent a further contraction of the job market.

It also plans to prepare supplementary measures to create jobs for young people. Economists have been showing concern that job market conditions for young adults will worsen this year as those in their late 20s ― or children of baby boomers ― will be entering the job market after graduating from college. While the number of jobseekers will increase, demand for young workers will contract due to the long-term economic slump.

The nurturing of startups is also included in the job creation plan. To encourage startups, the government plans to set up a 3.5 trillion won fund on top of investing 2.3 trillion won in them.

“Doors will be open wide for the startups to participate in the public procurement market,” Yoo added.

The outlook for the job market is not very positive this year as the delay in economic recovery and extension of retirement means there will be fewer new jobs available.

Manufacturing, which has been the main pillar of the job market, has failed to employ many workers of late. The number of those hired in the manufacturing sector decreased by 5,000 last year, falling for the first time in seven years. The outlook for the services sector is also negative.

“Job decreases in manufacturing will continue on sluggish exports and lower expectation on long-term growth,” LG Economic Research Institute noted in a recent report.

“Production has already started decreasing in traditional services such as restaurants and lodgings, retail and wholesale, and transportation. Funding won’t be easy for those wishing to start their own business as the interest rate is rising while real estate is losing value as collateral,” it added.