[Fact Check] Yoon Government Employment Indicators Reach All-Time High... Youth and Elderly Employment Rates Significantly Higher

Analysis of Employment Indicators by Administration Since the Roh Moo-hyun Government
Employment Rate Up and Unemployment Rate Down Under Current Administration... 'Resting Youth' Remains a Challenge

The employment indicators under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration have been shown to be the highest among all past administrations. Compared to the average employment rate and unemployment rate during the previous Moon Jae-in administration, the employment performance has significantly improved. In particular, the employment rates of the youth and seniors aged 65 and over have noticeably increased. However, the labor force participation rate has slightly declined, and the proportion of youth who are not entering the labor market and are classified as 'resting' has grown, leaving these issues as challenges to address.

On the 11th, Asia Economy calculated the average monthly employment rates during the terms of Presidents Roh Moo-hyun, Lee Myung-bak, Park Geun-hye, Moon Jae-in, and Yoon Suk-yeol based on employment data from Statistics Korea (overlapping months during transitions were counted multiple times). The results showed that since the Yoon Suk-yeol administration took office, the average employment rate was 62.53%, the highest among all administrations. The Lee Myung-bak administration followed with 61.3%, and the Park Geun-hye administration with 60.36%. The Moon Jae-in administration recorded 60.71%, and the Roh Moo-hyun administration had 59.88%.

Especially under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, there has been a steady trend in employment among the youth and seniors aged 60 and over. The average monthly employment rate for those aged 60 and above during the Yoon administration was 45.5%. This figure is significantly higher than that of the Moon Jae-in administration (41.71%), as well as the Park Geun-hye (38.96%), Lee Myung-bak (36.88%), and Roh Moo-hyun (37.17%) administrations. The youth employment rate also improved to 46.72% under the Yoon administration, surpassing the Roh Moo-hyun administration (44.32%), Moon Jae-in administration (43.33%), Lee Myung-bak administration (40.64%), and Park Geun-hye administration (40.78%).

The average unemployment rate under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration was 1 percentage point lower than during the Moon Jae-in administration. While the average monthly unemployment rate during the Moon administration was 3.7%, it dropped to 2.7% from the start of the Yoon administration through August. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho stated during the June National Assembly economic sector questioning, “Record-low unemployment rate, record-high employment rate,” adding that “the indicators are better than before inheriting the economy from the previous administration.” This trend has continued through August. Among past administrations, the average unemployment rates were 3.53% for Roh Moo-hyun, 3.43% for Lee Myung-bak, and 3.5% for Park Geun-hye.

However, the average labor force participation rate under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration slightly declined compared to the previous administration. The average monthly labor force participation rate during the Yoon administration was 62.55%, which is 0.5 percentage points lower than the Moon Jae-in administration’s 63.05%. The labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population aged 15 and over that is economically active (employed plus unemployed). It is an indicator of the level of economic activity. This means that the number of people who have given up job searching or postponed employment and thus exited the labor force has increased compared to the previous administration. Looking at the labor force participation rates of past administrations, Park Geun-hye’s was 62.55%, Lee Myung-bak’s 61.3%, and Roh Moo-hyun’s 62%.

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration is closely monitoring the increasing proportion of youth classified as 'resting.' Although the youth employment rate itself is the highest, the administration recognizes that the number of young people who lack the will to participate in economic activities and thus do not enter the labor market has significantly increased. As of the first half of this year, the proportion of 'resting' youth was 5.0% (425,000 people), which is about 1.4 times larger than the 3.3% (307,000 people) recorded in 2015. The government plans to complete its analysis of the backgrounds of youth not participating in the labor market by the end of this year.