The employment status board in President Moon Jae-in's Cheong Wa Dae office shows how eager he is to create jobs. So the November employment report might be all the more disappointing for Moon, who vowed to be the "jobs president."
According to Statistics Korea, the number of the employed totaled 26.84 million last month, up 253,000, or 1 percent, from a year earlier. In October, too, the job growth remained at 279,000 against the same month last year. The year-to-year increase in jobs failed to reach the government's target of 300,000 for two months in a row since Moon took office.
The country's jobless rate stood at 3.2 percent last month, up 0.1 percentage points from a year ago. Officials cited seasonal factors, saying the construction sector hired fewer temporary workers because of the cold wave that came earlier than usual. It seems to be more than just the weather, however.
Nothing reveals the severe job crunch more than the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 29, which came to 9.2 percent last month, up 1 percentage point year-on-year. The rate in November was the highest monthly figure since the government began to compile the data in 1999.
It may be too early after just six months to conclude the new government's job creation policy has failed. Also, the job market is always a lagging indicator, which means observers will have to wait to know for sure.
Conservative critics point to what they call the Moon administration's anti-business and pro-labor economic policy. More specifically, they cite the recent hike in the minimum wage, shortened working hours, and the government's call for businesses to turn more temps into permanent employees.
We would rather point to the limitations of a chaebol-oriented economic system. The combined assets of the 30 largest family-controlled conglomerates account for 90 percent of Korea's gross domestic product, but they hire less than 15 percent of the nation's workforce.
The job report shows why the government should hurry to shift economic focus to small and midsize enterprises, through narrowing their wage gap with big businesses and a job-sharing policy.
According to Statistics Korea, the number of the employed totaled 26.84 million last month, up 253,000, or 1 percent, from a year earlier. In October, too, the job growth remained at 279,000 against the same month last year. The year-to-year increase in jobs failed to reach the government's target of 300,000 for two months in a row since Moon took office.
The country's jobless rate stood at 3.2 percent last month, up 0.1 percentage points from a year ago. Officials cited seasonal factors, saying the construction sector hired fewer temporary workers because of the cold wave that came earlier than usual. It seems to be more than just the weather, however.
Nothing reveals the severe job crunch more than the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 29, which came to 9.2 percent last month, up 1 percentage point year-on-year. The rate in November was the highest monthly figure since the government began to compile the data in 1999.
It may be too early after just six months to conclude the new government's job creation policy has failed. Also, the job market is always a lagging indicator, which means observers will have to wait to know for sure.
Conservative critics point to what they call the Moon administration's anti-business and pro-labor economic policy. More specifically, they cite the recent hike in the minimum wage, shortened working hours, and the government's call for businesses to turn more temps into permanent employees.
We would rather point to the limitations of a chaebol-oriented economic system. The combined assets of the 30 largest family-controlled conglomerates account for 90 percent of Korea's gross domestic product, but they hire less than 15 percent of the nation's workforce.
The job report shows why the government should hurry to shift economic focus to small and midsize enterprises, through narrowing their wage gap with big businesses and a job-sharing policy.
![[INTERVIEW] ASTRO members aim to shine in musical theater](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/df16760dc50f469d93434f66a069465c.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Hip-hop group Uptown returns after 13 years with new lineup](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/0eae35da5e9c40c38cf439e550a2eb3e.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] INFINITE's Nam Woo-hyun returns after battling with rare cancer](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/a3c3440b8dc84bce8ca94394a170fef2.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
