Statistics Korea Releases January Employment Trends
Number of Employed Turns Positive After One Month
Employed People Aged 60 and Over Surpass Total Employment Increase
Construction Sees Largest Drop of 170,000 Since Records Began
The number of employed people increased by 135,000 last month, the first month of the new year, turning positive after a month. The number of employed people aged 60 and over increased by 340,000, greatly exceeding the overall employment increase of 135,000. Without the elderly aged 60 and over, employment would have been negative.
According to the 'January Employment Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 14th, the number of employed people last month was 27,878,000, an increase of 135,000 compared to a year ago.
By industry, employment decreased the most in construction (-169,000), followed by wholesale and retail trade (-91,000), and manufacturing (-56,000). The number of employed people in construction fell the most sharply since related statistics began in 2013.
Statistics Korea stated, "Employment in construction has been declining for nine consecutive months due to the downturn in the construction market, and the rate of decrease is also expanding." Employment in manufacturing has also been declining for seven consecutive months since July last year.
On the other hand, employment increased in health and social welfare services (119,000), professional, scientific, and technical services (98,000), and information and communication (81,000).
The polarization of jobs between the youth and the elderly was also evident. Employment among those aged 15-29 decreased by 218,000, and employment among those in their 40s, who play a central role in the economy, decreased by 71,000.
In contrast, the number of employed people aged 60 and over increased by 340,000, greatly exceeding the overall employment increase of 135,000. This means that without the elderly aged 60 and over, employment would have been negative.
The employment rate for those aged 15 and over was 61.0%, the same as a year ago. The employment rate for those aged 15-64, the OECD comparison standard, rose by 0.1 percentage points to 68.8% compared to the same month last year. The employment rate for youth (aged 15-29) was 44.8%, a sharp drop of 1.5 percentage points compared to the same month last year.
The unemployment rate was 3.7%, unchanged from a year ago. The number of unemployed was 1,083,000, an increase of 11,000 compared to a year ago. The youth unemployment number decreased by 16,000 compared to a year ago, and the youth unemployment rate remained at 6.0%, the same as the previous year.
The economically inactive population was 16,713,000, an increase of 150,000 (0.1%) compared to a year ago. By gender, the number of men was 6,406,000, an increase of 172,000 (2.8%) compared to the same month last year, while the number of women was 10,307,000, a decrease of 157,000 (-1.5%).
The population who were resting increased across all age groups. Among the economically inactive population, the number of people resting by age group increased compared to the same month last year in those aged 60 and over (42,000), those in their 20s (37,000), and those in their 50s (33,000). The number of discouraged job seekers was 404,000, an increase of 6,000 compared to the same month last year.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
