Vice Minister of Economy: "Decrease in Construction and Self-Employed Workers... Checking Employment Situation for Tailored Support"

Kim Beom-seok, 1st Vice Minister, Chairs Job Task Force Meeting

Kim Beom-seok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated on the 11th, "We will monitor employment conditions by industry and social class through the Job Inspection Team and strengthen efforts to create quality jobs and provide tailored support for vulnerable groups."

Presiding over the Job Task Force (TF) meeting held jointly by related ministries at the Government Seoul Office Building on the same day, Vice Minister Kim said, "Employment in construction and self-employment sectors is declining, and difficulties for vulnerable employment groups such as youth continue."

Kim Beom-seok, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is delivering opening remarks while presiding over the "20th Job Task Force Meeting" held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 11th. / Photo by Ministry of Strategy and Finance

The employment trends for August announced by Statistics Korea on the day showed favorable major employment indicators, with employment and economic activity rates reaching record highs and the unemployment rate hitting a record low. However, the number of employed persons in key industries such as construction and manufacturing decreased, resulting in employment indicators that the public does not feel positively about. This is the background behind Vice Minister Kim's statement that "we will ensure that favorable employment indicators lead to improved employment conditions felt by the public."

Vice Minister Kim said, "We will swiftly implement the Chuseok livelihood measures announced last month, including a 5 trillion won reinforcement of construction investment, three types of tax support to promote consumption, and a domestic tourism boom, so that the export-driven economic recovery can spread to equipment investment and the overall economy and livelihood." He added, "We will also steadily carry out comprehensive measures for small business owners, such as alleviating management burdens for the self-employed and supporting reemployment."

Furthermore, he explained, "Through the Youth Employment All-Care Platform, which began pilot operation last month, we will identify unemployed graduates and provide outreach employment services," and "We plan to discover additional policy tasks to promote economic activities for vulnerable groups such as youth, women, and middle-aged people, and include them in the second social mobility improvement plan."