Employment increased by 582,000 in June... Growth rate slows for the second consecutive month (Update)

June Employment Trends... Increase in Employment Among Youth and 40s
Employment Outlook for July Clouded by Concerns Over '4th Wave'

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The number of employed people increased by 582,000 last month, marking a rise for four consecutive months. The increase was largely influenced by employment growth among youth under 29 and middle-aged people in their 40s. However, the employment growth rate slowed for two consecutive months, and with the onset of the fourth wave of COVID-19, the outlook after July has become somewhat uncertain.

According to the 'June Employment Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 14th, the total number of employed people last month was 27.637 million, an increase of 582,000 compared to the same month last year. After showing a decline since March last year, when the spread of COVID-19 in Korea became pronounced, employment rebounded in March for the first time in one year and one month, and has increased for four consecutive months. However, the increase margin has decreased for two consecutive months.

Jung Dong-myeong, Director of the Social Statistics Bureau at Statistics Korea, explained, "Employment increased and the number of unemployed and economically inactive people decreased due to economic recovery such as exports, maintenance of social distancing levels, and base effects, continuing a pattern similar to May."

Notably, employment among youth (ages 15-29) and people in their 40s increased. Youth employment rose by 209,000 compared to the previous year, the largest increase since July 2000 when it rose by 234,000. In particular, employment among those aged 40-49, who play the role of the 'economic backbone,' increased by 12,000, the first increase in 68 months since November 2015. Director Jung explained that the increase in employment among people in their 40s was influenced by growth in employment in health and welfare, transportation and warehousing, and construction industries.

The employment rate for ages 15-64 (based on OECD comparison standards) was 67.1%, up 1.2 percentage points from the same month last year. The youth employment rate was 45.1%, up 3.1 percentage points from the same month a year ago.

The total number of unemployed people last month was 1.093 million, a decrease of 136,000 compared to the same month last year. The unemployment rate also fell by 0.5 percentage points to 3.8%.

The number of discouraged job seekers was 583,000, an increase of 46,000 compared to the same month last year. Discouraged job seekers refer to those among the economically inactive population who wanted to work and were able to work but did not seek jobs due to poor labor market conditions and had job-seeking experience within the past year. As of June, this is the largest scale since the related statistics criteria were changed in 2014. Director Jung said, "The increase was particularly notable among those aged 60 and over."

However, the impact of the fourth wave of COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant is expected to be properly reflected in the 'July Employment Trends' to be announced next month. Director Jung explained, "The survey period for the 'June Employment Trends' was from the 13th to the 19th of last month, during which social distancing levels of 2 in the metropolitan area and 1.5 in non-metropolitan areas were applied."

Regarding this, Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said on his social media (SNS), "Recent strengthening of quarantine measures has increased difficulties for small business owners and is expected to affect the employment market, which is worrisome," adding, "We will focus on policy responses to quickly suppress the spread of COVID-19 through strengthened social distancing and ensure that the employment recovery trend continues without disruption."