By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
Women residing in Jeju are the most economically active in the country, while those in Gangwon Province are least involved in business activities and tend to stay home for housekeeping, childcare and other reasons, according to the National Statistical Office (NSO) Monday.
The economic participation rate among women in Jeju stood at 60.6 percent in February, substantially higher than the national average of 48.5 percent.
This means that more than six out of 10 females aged 15 to 64 on the island are economically active, either working or looking for jobs. The rest are classified as economically inactive, which refers to those who do not participate in economic activities because of housekeeping, childcare, study, health problems or other reasons.
South Jeolla Province came in second at 52.2, followed by Seoul with 51 percent and South Gyeongsang Province with 49.5 percent. Gangwon Province posted the lowest participation rate of 41.2 percent.
``Historically, women on Jeju Island worked like men to survive in the harsh natural environment. The story has not changed much these days as many women are still involved in the agriculture and fisheries sectors,'' an NSO official said. Many women there are still working as divers, catching abalone and other marine products for a living.
The statistical office also said the economic participation rate among men is also the highest on Jeju Island at 76.6 percent, followed by Ulsan with 76.1 percent and Incheon with 75 percent. The ratio of economically active people to the population was the lowest in Gangwon Province at 63.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the overall economic participation rate has shown a downward curve over the past few years as more young people have given up looking for jobs amid the tight labor market. The rate stood at 61.8 percent at the end of last year, down from 61.9 percent in 2006 and 62 percent in 2005.
The number of ``idle'' men and women who are voluntarily unemployed reached 1.63 million in February, up from 1.56 million a year earlier, pushing down the economic participation rate. These people, categorized as ``taking a rest'' from work, are among the economically inactive.
Also, the number of individuals preparing for employment increased to 607,000 from 521,000 from a year ago amid the tight job market. They are classified as part of the economically inactive population because they are not directly engaged in job-hunting activities.
The NSO official said the number of university graduates preparing for employment has continued to increase over the years as more are willing to study longer to get better jobs that offer higher salaries and greater job security.
``Also, many white-collar employees have quit work to study again to become lawyers, civil servants, doctors and other occupations with high social status. But the number of such jobs has decreased or become harder to get because of intensifying competition,'' he said.