Even Platform Workers Decrease Only Among Women... Non-Regular Workers Face 'Corona Shock'

Non-regular Atypical Jobs: Female Workers Decrease by 59,000, Male Workers Increase by 87,000
Gender Wage Gap Widens as Women Earn 82.1% of Men's Wages Compared to Previous Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] It has been revealed that non-regular female jobs were more severely impacted by COVID-19 than male jobs. Among atypical workers, including platform jobs such as housekeeping, delivery, and tutoring, the number of male workers increased by 87,000, while female workers decreased by 59,000.

On the 23rd, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family held the "6th Expert Meeting on Women's Employment Status Analysis and Policy Task Discovery" at the Government Seoul Office, together with related organizations such as the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korean Women's Development Institute.

Examining changes in non-regular female workers before and after COVID-19, it was found that non-regular female jobs worsened and the gender wage gap widened.

Joo Jae-seon, a research fellow at the Korean Women's Development Institute who presented the findings, analyzed the August 2020 supplementary survey on employment types from the Economically Active Population Survey. The number of non-regular female workers was 4,091,000, a decrease of 35,000 compared to the same month the previous year. Non-regular male workers numbered 3,335,000, a decrease of 21,000 during the same period.

Among non-regular workers, atypical workers such as platform jobs like delivery, tutoring teachers, and housekeeping services showed different impacts by gender due to COVID-19. Atypical workers refer to dispatched or outsourced workers, special employment workers, in-home workers (telecommuting, home-based), and daily workers. The number of atypical female workers (861,000) decreased by 59,000 compared to the same month the previous year, while male workers (1,212,000) increased by 87,000. The employment shock was significant in the atypical market, where female employment is predominant.

The gender wage gap among non-regular workers also widened compared to the previous year. The average hourly wage of atypical female workers from June to August 2020 was 82.1% of that of males, a decrease of 10.4 percentage points compared to the same period the previous year. This was the largest decline among non-regular workers. The average hourly wage of all non-regular female workers was 80.6% of males, down 3.5 percentage points from the previous year.

Kwon Hye-ja, a research fellow at the Korea Employment Information Service, pointed out, "Gender occupational segregation exists even in web-based platform labor, with a high proportion of women in web design, professional services, and simple tasks, but with low income. There is a need for job transition measures for such low-income freelancers and unstable web-based platform labor."

Kim Hye-jin, a professor in the Department of Business Administration at Sejong University, said, "To improve working conditions in non-regular jobs, policies that can improve the labor market structure are necessary, focusing on gender-segregated industries where many female non-regular workers are employed."

Bae Jeong-mi, director of the Korea YWCA Federation, stated, "To ensure the early establishment and activation of the recently promulgated Domestic Workers Act, tax support and tax credits for service providers and users are needed, and a public support system for integrated education and qualification management of care workers should be established."

Kim Kyung-sun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said, "As the atypical labor market, including platforms, is expected to continue expanding, it has been confirmed that gender segregation and gaps appear in these labor markets as well. We will closely examine the status of female jobs in platform and atypical labor markets and strive to improve working conditions, including expanding social insurance coverage."