Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
No. of unemployed falls for fourth month
A Statistics Korea official briefs reporters on employment data for the month of June released Wednesday, at the government complex in Sejong. / Yonhap
By Kim Bo-eun
By Kim Bo-eun
COVID-19's toll on the job market extended through June, as the number of employed people decreased by more than 350,000 year-on-year, falling for the fourth consecutive month, data showed Wednesday.
This is the first time in a decade that the number of employed people has declined for four consecutive months, a situation not seen since October 2009 to January 2010, following the global financial crisis.
According to Statistics Korea, the accommodation and restaurant businesses lost 186,000 jobs, the largest fall in the number of employed by sector. Wholesale and retail, education services, and manufacturing followed in the numbers of jobs lost.
On the other hand, the health and welfare services employed 164,000 more people. The farming and fishing, transportation and warehouse businesses sectors also hired more workers in June.
"COVID-19 has had an impact on all industries and the most affected was the person-to-person services sector," a Statistics Korea official said.
By age group, the largest decrease in employment was among people in their 30s and 40s ― at 195,000 and 180,000, respectively. Those in their 20s and 50s also experienced a decline, while for people in their 60s secured 338,000 new jobs. This increase is attributed to the resumption of job programs for senior citizens.
According to status, temporary workers saw the greatest job loss, as the number of those employed fell by 408,000.
The number of workers on temporary leave, who are counted as employed, surged by 366,000 year-on-year, to 729,000.
The number of unemployed rose by 91,000 to 1.23 million, pushing the unemployment rate up by 0.3 percentage points to 4.3 percent.
These are both the highest figures for the month of June, since data was first compiled in 1999.
The figures for June, however, are an improvement from the past months, especially April. The employment rate rose from 60.2 percent to 60.4 percent from the previous month, and the year-on-year job loss for June was smaller than that for the months of April and May, when there were down 476,000 and 392,000 year-on-year. The unemployment rate is also down from the figures in May.
Regarding the latest data, Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki said circumstances have improved, but noted employment circumstances have worsened for certain sectors.
“It is worrying that the manufacturing sector has seen unemployment grow from 57,000 in May to 65,000 in June. It is also unfortunate that we are seeing a slow recovery in employment for people in their 20s,” he noted in a Facebook post on the statistic agency's figures.
“We are seeing a recovery from the COVID-19 shock, after hitting rock bottom in April, but we still see great uncertainty in disease prevention efforts here and overseas,” he said.
Korea Labor Institute senior researcher Kim Jong-wook also expressed some concerns. “COVID-19 continues to affect the job market. Figures have improved from April but we still see the person-to-person services sector afflicted,” he said.
“The manufacturing sector meanwhile has been seeing a decrease in jobs as the country experiences a decline in industrial power. In the case of young people in their 20s, they are still having difficulty entering the job market due to less hiring amid the pandemic.”