[Column] The 570,000 Supplementary Budget Jobs Ending in Empty Promises (허언)

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government's pledge to create 575,000 public and youth jobs is increasingly likely to end as an empty promise. According to the announcement by the Job Committee on the 28th, the government achieved only 62% (354,000 jobs) of the 575,000 job target set to be created through the 3rd supplementary budget (supplementary budget).

In particular, private sector jobs accounted for only 10% of the target. Although the plan was to hire a total of 160,000 people by supporting labor costs for private companies through youth digital jobs and work experience support, the actual hiring rate was a disappointing 11% (18,000 people). Despite extensive promotion through various media, the private sector's response to government projects was cold. The supplementary budget must be executed within this year. It appears that over 1 trillion won of the budget will remain unused and be forfeited.

The private job projects have been criticized from the start for offering low wages at the minimum wage level and short-term part-time jobs of less than six months. The government claimed it was a desperate measure to put out the urgent fire of overcoming the COVID-19 crisis. However, through this supplementary budget project status announcement, it has become clear that at least "private companies do not want this kind of employment support." It was confirmed not only that the job demand forecast was wrong but also that short-term jobs cannot be a solution to the employment crisis. There is already widespread perception that short-term jobs created with taxpayers' money are a trick to increase the number of employed people.

Although the government's plan to create a large number of private sector jobs through the supplementary budget has effectively failed, it can be an opportunity to thoroughly review job projects. It is also time to respond to the changing employment environment in the 'post-COVID' era. The first step should be to examine why the supplementary budget projects were ignored by the private sector. When job support projects do not work properly or are not felt on the ground, or when they are abused for improper purposes, trust in government policies declines. Rather than simple 'cash handout' support, sustainable growth of companies and talent development should be considered together. It is necessary to listen to voices from the field and break away from tax omnipotence. What young job seekers want from the government is not flashy slogans like 'creating ○○ thousand jobs.' They want an environment where they can be rewarded and respected for working in the fields they desire.