The Number of Employees in Accommodation and Food Services Increased by 34,000 with Daily Life Recovery
[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporters Kwon Haeyoung and Son Seonhee] The number of employed people in May increased by more than 900,000 compared to a year ago, marking the largest increase in 22 years for the same month. Employment in face-to-face industries such as accommodation and food services rose due to the recovery of daily life after COVID-19.
According to the 'May Employment Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the 15th, the number of employed people last month was 28,485,000, an increase of 935,000 compared to a year ago. This is the largest increase for the same month since May 2000 (1,039,000), the biggest rise in 22 years.
The increase in the number of employed people exceeded 1 million in January (1,135,000) and February (1,037,000) this year, then dropped to the 800,000 range in March (830,100) and April (860,500), before rising again to the 900,000 range in May.
However, when looking at the increase in employment by age group, those aged 60 and over accounted for the largest increase with 459,000. Nearly half of the total job increase was occupied by jobs for the elderly. In contrast, the number of employed people in their 30s, the backbone of the labor market, increased by only 6,000, and those in their 40s increased by 36,000.
By industry, employment increased in health and social welfare services (178,000), which includes direct job projects funded by the government, and public administration (90,900). Employment in accommodation and food services (34,000) also increased compared to a year ago due to the recovery of daily life after COVID-19. On the other hand, employment in wholesale and retail trade (-40,500) and finance and insurance (-39,000) decreased during the same period.
Gong Misook, Director of the Social Statistics Bureau at Statistics Korea, explained, "Wholesale and retail trade is structurally declining due to the spread of unmanned kiosks and non-face-to-face stores," adding, "Finance and insurance are also decreasing due to the increase in non-face-to-face services and the reduction in the number of branches, but other industries are increasing."
The employment rate for those aged 15 and over was 63%, up 1.8 percentage points compared to the same month last year.
The number of unemployed people was 889,000, down 259,000 from a year ago. The unemployment rate was 3.0%, down 1.0 percentage point, marking the lowest in 9 years.
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