February Employment Down 473,000 YoY... 12th Consecutive Month of Decline 'Longest Since Foreign Exchange Crisis' (Update)

Unemployed Increased by 201,000 Compared to Same Month Last Year
Impact of Social Distancing Easing and Decrease in Senior Jobs

On the 4th, job seekers visiting the '2020 Nowon-gu Job Fair' held at Deungnamu Neighborhood Park in Nowon-gu, Seoul, are looking at job postings. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyun-jung (Sejong), Jang Se-hee] Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the number of employed persons in February decreased by 473,000 compared to the previous year. This marks the 12th consecutive month of decline since March last year when COVID-19 began to spread, making it the longest period since the 1998 IMF financial crisis.

According to the 'February Employment Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 17th, the number of employed persons last month was 26,365,000, down 473,000 from a year earlier. This is the 12th consecutive month of decline since March last year, the longest record since the 16-month consecutive decrease from January 1998 to April 1999.

Kim Kyung-hee, head of the Employment Statistics Division at Statistics Korea, said, "The impact of job projects starting due to the easing of social distancing measures is reflected." She explained, "The decrease in the number of employed persons narrowed compared to January," adding, "As senior citizen jobs began in earnest, the overall decrease in employment numbers was reduced." In January, the number of employed persons had decreased by 982,000.

By industry, employment decreased in accommodation and food services (-232,000), wholesale and retail trade (-194,000), associations and organizations, repair and other personal services (-84,000), among others. On the other hand, health and social welfare services (91,000) and public administration, defense, and social security administration (38,000) sectors saw increases.

The number of employed persons decreased across all age groups except those aged 60 and over (212,000). The declines were seen in the 20s (-106,000), 30s (-238,000), 40s (-166,000), and 50s (-139,000).

The employment rate was 58.6%, down 1.4 percentage points from a year earlier. This is the lowest since May 2013 (57.5%) for the same month. The unemployment rate rose to 4.9%, up 0.8 percentage points from a year earlier. The number of unemployed persons was recorded at 1,353,000, an increase of 201,000 compared to the same month last year.