Trends in Wage Worker Jobs in Q3 2020... Manufacturing Jobs Decrease by 8.7 Million, the Largest Drop
[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] In the third quarter of last year, wage worker jobs increased by 369,000 compared to the same period the previous year. Although the increase was larger than in the previous quarter, youth jobs actually decreased, and only jobs for seniors aged 60 and over saw a significant rise. Half of the job increase was accounted for by the 'public administration' sector, leading to criticism that it is difficult to say that quality jobs have increased.
According to the '2020 Third Quarter Wage Worker Job Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 25th, the total number of wage worker jobs in the third quarter of last year was 19,108,000. Continuous jobs held by the same worker accounted for 13,321,000 (69.7%), and jobs replaced due to retirement or job change accounted for 2,965,000 (15.5%).
New jobs created by company formation or business expansion were 2,822,000, while jobs lost due to company closure or business reduction were 2,453,000.
The number of wage worker jobs in the third quarter of last year increased more than in the previous second quarter (an increase of 211,000 jobs).
However, looking at the detailed breakdown by age, jobs for those aged 20 and under decreased by 86,000, and those in their 30s decreased by 64,000. In particular, jobs for those aged 20 and under have been declining for three consecutive quarters.
On the other hand, jobs for those aged 60 and over increased by 347,000, the largest increase among all age groups, followed by 128,000 for those in their 50s and 44,000 for those in their 40s.
Despite the increase in the number of jobs, the disappearance of jobs for the '2030' youth and the increase only in senior jobs is because most of the increased jobs are in the public sector such as government and non-corporate organizations, not in the private sector. Jobs increased by 240,000 in government and non-corporate organizations, and by 199,000 in corporations other than companies. However, jobs in company corporations decreased by 53,000, and in individual businesses by 17,000. This is the first time since the statistics were compiled that jobs in company corporations have decreased.
Looking at the industry classification, the largest increase was in public administration with 177,000 jobs, followed by health and social welfare with an increase of 162,000. Manufacturing, which has the largest share of jobs, saw a decrease of 87,000 wage worker jobs. This is the largest decrease since the first quarter of 2018 when related statistics began to be compiled. The accommodation and food service sector, which was hit hardest by COVID-19, also lost 25,000 jobs.
Kim Jin, head of the Administrative Statistics Division at Statistics Korea, explained the background of the increase in public sector jobs: "Between March and June last year, the employment shock to vulnerable job groups due to COVID-19 was very severe, and job projects were carried out mainly by the government or local governments to mitigate this."
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