Korea isolated from 'global jobs boom'
By Lee Kyung-min Korea is isolated from the boom in global employment, as its unemployment rate has continued to rise while most advanced economies have seen unemployment declining. The employment data is the product of a number of factors but experts said the key culprit behind Korea's isolation was the Moon Jae-in administration's income-led growth strategy defined by rapid hikes of the hourly minimum wage and shorter workweek hours reduced to 52 from the previous 68.They said the government should have had more thorough reviews and assessment on the potential pitfalls of their policies, particularly their impact on the country's labor productivity.Moon's signature economic policy has been widely cited as the main reason companies are continuing their job freezes, largely regarded as a policy failure stemming from the government's excessive intervention in the market.Xu Xiao Chun of Moody's Analytics said, “The minimum wage hike is one of many factors that have led to Korea experiencing a relatively high unemployment rate and weak employment growth.” “It is a resu
