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By Lee Kyung-min
Korea lost 421,000 jobs in October due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sharpest year-on-year drop since April's contraction of 476,000, Statistics Korea data showed Wednesday.
The loss extending for the eighth consecutive month is a record-long continuation, tied along with the period in 2009 from January to August in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. The troubling record may be broken given next month's job report is unlikely to see improvements.
People of all age groups except those over 60 years old lost jobs, with the pinch being felt sharpest by temporary workers, day laborers and the self-employed in the service, retail and wholesale industries.
The virus-triggered loss that began in March will continue in the coming months, given the continued spread of the virus is highly likely to surge in winter, according to Yonsei University economist Sung Tae-yoon.
"Those in their 30s and 40s lost their jobs, meaning the age groups that usually retain quality jobs are losing their way of making a living. The backbone of the economy is taking a major hit, and the worst is yet to come," he said.
The data showed that the number of those on temporary unpaid leave, statistically considered employed, hit a record high in the agency's data which it has been compiling since 1982.
Of those economically inactive ― statistically considered neither employed nor unemployed ― 2.35 million people said they "took a break." The number of people in this category soared 11.7 percent year-on-year, the highest increase since 2003 when the agency began compiling related data.
Lodgings and eateries lost 227,000 jobs, going down 9.9 percent from a year earlier, followed by retail and wholesale that lost 188,000.
Temporary workers lost 261,000 jobs, a drop of 5.3 percent, while 59,000 were lost by day laborers, down by 4.1 percent year-on-year.
Small businesses lost 168,000 jobs, down by 11.1 percent, whereas 90,000 people became self-employed, up 2.2 percent year-on-year.
The number of people who worked 36 hours or fewer a week ― mostly contract or temporary workers ― stood at 5.62 million, down 614,000, or 12.2 percent.
The number of those on temporary unpaid leave came to 497,000, up 190,000 or 61.6 percent, the highest August figure the agency has recorded in almost 40 years of collecting related data. They are statistically considered employed because they are deemed certain to return to work and the leave period is shorter than six months. If their return is uncertain and the period exceeds six months, they will be considered economically inactive.
Economically active people comprising both people with jobs and the unemployed ― statistically defined as those willing, able and seeking work ― dropped to 28.11 million, down 257,000, year-on-year.
Sung said the woeful figures could take a further dive since economic activities can be restricted following social distancing that will push many low-income self-employed people to the brink of economic collapse.
"The situation report will be worse given infections could surge at any given moment, with development and mass distribution of vaccines for COVID-19 still elusive," he said.
