Employment Insurance Subscribers Surpass 15 Million... 20s Age Group Declines for 7 Consecutive Months

Employment Insurance Subscribers 15,007,000
Increase of 369,000 Compared to Previous Year
Impact of Face-to-Face Activities... Accommodation, Food Service & Health Welfare Up

The number of employment insurance subscribers increased for the second consecutive month, surpassing 15 million regular subscribers. However, the number of subscribers aged 29 and under decreased by 26,000 compared to the same month last year, showing a decline for seven consecutive months.

According to the 'March Employment Administration Statistics' announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 10th, the number of employment insurance subscribers last month was 15,007,000, an increase of 369,000 compared to the same month last year.

Compared to the end of February when the number of subscribers increased by 357,000 year-on-year, the growth rate has expanded further.

Specifically, the number of subscribers in the manufacturing industry was 3,785,000, an increase of 100,000 compared to the same month last year. The Ministry explained, "Despite difficult conditions such as decreased production and exports, the number of subscribers continues to increase." Growth continued in sectors such as metal processing, machinery equipment, automobiles, and electronic communications, while sectors like textiles, clothing and fur, and beverages declined.

Last month, the number of subscribers in the service industry was 10,301,000, an increase of 249,000 compared to the same month last year. The increase was driven by the normalization of face-to-face activities affecting accommodation and food services, and increased demand in health, care, and social welfare sectors. On the other hand, due to the reduction of quarantine-related jobs following the stabilization of the COVID-19 situation, education services and public administration underperformed, causing the overall growth in the service industry to slow down.

By age group, the number increased by 48,000 in their 30s, 24,000 in their 40s, 101,000 in their 50s, and 222,000 for those aged 60 and above, while those aged 29 and under decreased by 26,000.

Subscribers in their 20s have been declining for seven consecutive months: September last year (-9,000), October (-17,000), November (-29,000), December (-30,000), January this year (-40,000), February (-29,000), and continuing this trend.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor analyzed that the decrease in subscribers aged 29 and under is due to the continuous population decline and decreases in retail (-26,000), business services (-11,000), and health and welfare (-10,000) sectors.

The number of new job-seeker benefit applicants (144,000) increased by 11,000 (8.5%) compared to the same month last year. Beneficiaries also increased by 7,000 (1.0%) to 675,000, and the payment amount rose by 29.7 billion KRW (3.0%) to 1.0333 trillion KRW. The average benefit amount per job-seeker benefit case was approximately 1.35 million KRW.