Number of Employed People Decreased by 982,000 Last Month... Largest Drop Since the Foreign Exchange Crisis
Even Senior Jobs Declined
Job seekers visiting the '2020 Nowon-gu Job Fair' held on the 4th at Deungnamu Neighborhood Park in Nowon-gu, Seoul, are looking at job postings. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Last month, the number of unemployed people reached 1.57 million, the highest since related statistics began in 1999. The number of employed people also decreased by nearly 1 million last month, marking the largest decline since the foreign exchange crisis. The government attributes this to the base effect from employment growth (568,000 people) in January last year, but it is interpreted that the employment shock caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic could not be avoided.
According to the 'January Employment Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the 10th, the number of unemployed people increased by 417,000 to 1.57 million. This is the first time since the unemployment statistics were revised in June 1999 that the number of unemployed has exceeded 1.5 million.
The number of employed people last month was 25.818 million, a decrease of 982,000 compared to the same month last year. This is the largest decline since December 1998 (-1.283 million) during the foreign exchange crisis.
Employment decreased across all age groups: 20s (-255,000), 30s (-273,000), 40s (-210,000), 50s (-170,000), and 60 and over (-15,000).
Among the economically inactive population, the number of discouraged job seekers who gave up looking for work for various reasons increased by 233,000 to 775,000 compared to the same month last year.
Discouraged job seekers refer to the economically inactive population who have engaged in job-seeking activities within the past year, wish to work and have the potential to do so, but have not looked for a job in the past four weeks for various reasons.
Meanwhile, the number of people who simply rested without any job-seeking plans, called the 'rested' population, also increased by 379,000 to 2.715 million last month. This is the highest record since statistics began in January 2003.
Professor Lee In-ho of Seoul National University’s Department of Economics commented on the decrease in employed people across all age groups, including those aged 60 and over (-15,000), saying, "It appears that even the provision of senior jobs supported by government finances has shrunk due to the impact of COVID-19. If artificially created jobs are withdrawn, the decline in employment numbers will be even greater."
He added, "Even if some industries like exports improve, if the recovery in service sectors such as retail and wholesale is slow, employment will inevitably become more difficult."
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