By Choi Sung-jin
Full-time, unionized employees at large businesses receive wages three times higher and their careers are six times longer than part-time, non-unionized workers at small and midsize enterprises, research says.
The former received 4.17 million won ($3,756) on average a month while the latter earned 1.39 million won, according to an analysis of Statistics Korea's economic activities survey in March 2015 by the National Assembly Research Service. The monthly average wage of all workers was 2.31 million won.
What seemed to be popular concerns about the serious gap between good jobs and the so-called "less-good" jobs have proved true, labor market watchers said.
The number of employees who have decent jobs -- defined as regular workers in unionized firms hiring 300 or more -- amounted to 1,427,000, or 7.6 percent of total wage earners. But the number of workers who have less than decent jobs that meet none of the three major conditions was 4,885,000, 26 percent of the total, the analysis showed.
Aside from the wage gap, the small number of workers with good jobs had far longer continuous service than the larger number of workers with poorer jobs. The former group's average service of 13.4 years was nearly six times the latter's 2.3 years and more than twice the 5.7 years on average marked by total wage earners.
There also were wide gaps in social benefits, such as the national pension and health insurance, as well as the application of bonuses and severance pay between good and not-so-good jobs. While 99 percent of people who have decent jobs were insured by the national pension and health insurance and received bonuses and severance pay, only a third of those in poorer jobs enjoyed similar benefits.
"Although the government has induced job seekers to land at small and midsize enterprises, young people are avoiding them because of too wide gaps in working conditions with large businesses," the analysis said.
Some experts pointed to the deepening polarization of job markets as it is becoming more difficult to increase the number of "good jobs" because full-time workers at large companies oppose labor reforms aimed at making the market more flexible.
Full-time, unionized employees at large businesses receive wages three times higher and their careers are six times longer than part-time, non-unionized workers at small and midsize enterprises, research says.
The former received 4.17 million won ($3,756) on average a month while the latter earned 1.39 million won, according to an analysis of Statistics Korea's economic activities survey in March 2015 by the National Assembly Research Service. The monthly average wage of all workers was 2.31 million won.
What seemed to be popular concerns about the serious gap between good jobs and the so-called "less-good" jobs have proved true, labor market watchers said.
The number of employees who have decent jobs -- defined as regular workers in unionized firms hiring 300 or more -- amounted to 1,427,000, or 7.6 percent of total wage earners. But the number of workers who have less than decent jobs that meet none of the three major conditions was 4,885,000, 26 percent of the total, the analysis showed.
Aside from the wage gap, the small number of workers with good jobs had far longer continuous service than the larger number of workers with poorer jobs. The former group's average service of 13.4 years was nearly six times the latter's 2.3 years and more than twice the 5.7 years on average marked by total wage earners.
There also were wide gaps in social benefits, such as the national pension and health insurance, as well as the application of bonuses and severance pay between good and not-so-good jobs. While 99 percent of people who have decent jobs were insured by the national pension and health insurance and received bonuses and severance pay, only a third of those in poorer jobs enjoyed similar benefits.
"Although the government has induced job seekers to land at small and midsize enterprises, young people are avoiding them because of too wide gaps in working conditions with large businesses," the analysis said.
Some experts pointed to the deepening polarization of job markets as it is becoming more difficult to increase the number of "good jobs" because full-time workers at large companies oppose labor reforms aimed at making the market more flexible.
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