'Up to 3 Million KRW Per Person' National Employment Support Program Assisted 423,000 People Last Year... Expanded by 100,000 Low-Income Individuals

341,000 Low-Income Type I Beneficiaries Last Year... 61.9% Youth, 55.4% Women
More Spent on Living Expenses than Job Seeking... 76.4% According to Labor Research

Expansion of Wage Support for Youth Hiring in SMEs... Assigning 'Tasks' to Job Seekers

Minister of Employment and Labor Ahn Kyung-duk delivering a greeting at the 2021 National Employment Support System Best Practices Conference held at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul on the 2nd of last month. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] It has been revealed that 423,000 people received benefits from the National Employment Support System, which provides up to 3 million KRW per person over six months for job-seeking activities, during the past year. The government plans to increase support for low-income groups from 400,000 to 500,000 people this year.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 4th the achievements of the National Employment Support System last year and its operational directions for this year. Known as the Korean-style unemployment assistance system, the National Employment Support System was introduced last year. It combines personalized employment support services such as individual vocational training, work experience, welfare services, and income support. Income support is divided into Type I, which provides a job-seeking promotion allowance of 500,000 KRW per month for six months totaling 3 million KRW along with employment support services, and Type II, which supports up to 1,954,000 KRW only.

Last year, 509,000 people applied, and 423,000 actually received support. In particular, 341,000 were Type I beneficiaries, with youth accounting for 61.9% (211,000 people) and women 55.4% (189,000 people). Since the system was designed for vulnerable employment groups such as youth and women, the Ministry of Employment and Labor considers these beneficiary ratios significant.

However, it was also revealed that many people used the money more for living expenses than purely for job-seeking activities. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Labor Institute in November last year, the main reasons for applying to the system were job counseling and establishing a job search plan (4.05 out of 5 points) and stabilizing life through receiving the job-seeking promotion allowance (3.99 points). The usage of the job-seeking promotion allowance was ranked as living expenses (76.4%), job-seeking activity costs (50.3%), and direct job-related expenses (42.8%).

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that the budget target for the National Employment Support System this year is set at 600,000 people. Although similar to last year's 590,000, the number of Type I support recipients will be significantly increased from 400,000 to 500,000. The youth special support target has also been expanded from 100,000 to 170,000. Referring to the results from the Labor Institute survey, this year’s operation will focus on supporting participants’ job-seeking efforts, revising employment competency evaluations, and maximizing the effectiveness of work experience support. The aim is to encourage spending on job-seeking costs rather than living expenses.

First, from the 1st of this month, an early employment success allowance of up to 500,000 KRW is being provided. The number of times participants can receive the job-seeking promotion allowance is limited to three, and 500,000 KRW is given upon successful employment or entrepreneurship. To strengthen job placement, a 'Job Placement Dedicated Team' will be pilot-operated at the Incheon and Gumi Employment Centers, and a 'Job Information Coordination Team' at the Busan Center in the first half of this year, with plans to expand to all regional offices.

Additionally, participants will be assigned tasks to confirm their job-seeking motivation and receive face-to-face counseling to effectively increase actual employment rates. A new 'Youth Job Leap Incentive' will be implemented this year, providing small and medium-sized enterprises that hire unemployed youth as regular employees and maintain employment for over six months with 800,000 KRW per month per youth for up to 12 months (9.6 million KRW annually). Furthermore, the 'Employment Promotion Incentive' system will be linked, providing 600,000 KRW per month (7.2 million KRW annually) to employers who hire National Employment Support System participants as contract workers for more than six months. To enhance the quality of the work experience program, opportunities such as mock resume writing, self-introduction writing, and interviews will be provided before participation.

Minister of Employment and Labor Ahn Kyung-deok said, "In the first year of implementing the National Employment Support System, we have identified and supported blind spots to help more citizens and provided employment support services. As we enter the second year of the system, we will do our best to establish it as an essential employment safety net for the people."

Meanwhile, to commemorate the first anniversary of the system’s implementation, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that from the 5th, a free distribution event of KakaoTalk 'ChwieopIrum' emoticons will be held. The first 80,000 people who add the National Employment Support System consultation chatbot as a friend channel on KakaoTalk will be able to download the 'Irum-i' character emoticons.