492,000 New Jobs in February... Growth in Accommodation and Food Services Slows Due to COVID-19 Impact (Update)

Statistics Korea, February Employment Trends

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyun-jung, Joo Sang-don] In February this year, the number of new employed persons increased by more than 490,000, continuing the trend of increasing by more than 300,000 for seven consecutive months. However, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), consumers have been reluctant to go out, resulting in a significant decrease in the employment growth rate in the accommodation and food service industries.

On the 11th, Statistics Korea announced the 'February Employment Trends' report containing these details.

The number of employed persons in February was 26,838,000, an increase of 492,000 (1.9%) compared to the same month last year. Although the increase was smaller than the previous month (568,000), the number of new employed persons has increased by more than 300,000 for seven consecutive months since August last year (452,000).

By industry, due to the impact of COVID-19, the number of new employed persons in accommodation and food service industries increased by only 0.6%, significantly lower than the previous month’s increase rate of 3.8%. In particular, wholesale and retail trade decreased by 106,000 (-2.9%), marking the largest decline since August 2018 (-123,000). Information and communication (-25,000; -2.9%) and associations, organizations, repair, and other personal services (-23,000; -1.9%) also declined.

On the other hand, influenced by the spread of the 'social distancing' campaign, the use of delivery services increased, leading to an increase of 99,000 (7.0%) in new employment in transportation and warehousing. Employment also increased in health and social welfare services (202,000; 9.7%) and agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (80,000; 7.1%).

By age group, the trend of an increase in those aged 60 and over and a decrease in those in their 40s continued. The number of new employed persons increased by 570,000 for those aged 60 and over, 57,000 for those in their 50s, and 19,000 for those in their 30s. Meanwhile, it decreased by 104,000 for those in their 40s and 25,000 for those in their 20s.

The number of unemployed persons in February was 1,153,000, a decrease of 150,000 (-11.5%) compared to the same month last year. The unemployment rate fell by 0.6 percentage points to 4.1%.

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