September Employment Trends Show Contrasting Indicators in Two Regions
Both Gwangju and Jeonnam See a Decrease in the Economically Inactive Population
Number of Unemployed Rises as More People Seek Jobs
Gwangju saw an increase in the number of employed people last month, while Jeonnam experienced a decline, resulting in contrasting employment figures for September. Although both regions reported a decrease in the economically inactive population, the number of unemployed people increased.
According to the "September Employment Trends in Gwangju and Jeonnam" released by the Honam Regional Statistics Office on October 17, the number of employed people in Gwangju was 787,000, an increase of 19,000 compared to the same month last year. By gender, the number of employed men rose by 12,000 to 435,000, and the number of employed women increased by 8,000 to 353,000.
In contrast, the number of employed people in Jeonnam was 1,007,000, a decrease of 3,000 from a year earlier. The number of employed men remained unchanged at 559,000, while the number of employed women decreased by 2,000 to 448,000.
Both Gwangju and Jeonnam saw a decrease in the economically inactive population and an increase in the number of unemployed people. The economically inactive population in Gwangju fell by 26,000 year-on-year to 466,000, while in Jeonnam it decreased by 2,000 to 489,000.
The decline in the economically inactive population is interpreted as people who had previously left the labor market returning to seek jobs. Since those who are willing to work but cannot find employment are classified as "unemployed" in the statistics, the number of unemployed people increases. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) standards, anyone who works at least one hour per week for income is classified as "employed," while those who have not worked but have actively sought jobs in the past four weeks are classified as "unemployed."
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