Korean Part-Time Workers Increase by 1 Million Over 11 Years

Hankyungyeon 'OECD Labor Force Statistics' Utilization Trend Analysis
Part-time Worker Growth Rate 4.0%, Ranked 1st Among '7 Countries'

Korea Economic Research Institute.

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] A recent survey revealed that the number of part-time workers working less than 30 hours per week in South Korea has increased by more than one million over the past 11 years. It is claimed that the qualitative level of domestic employment has deteriorated at the fastest rate compared to major countries since the global financial crisis.

The Korea Economic Research Institute under the Federation of Korean Industries analyzed the trend of part-time workers working less than 30 hours per week in the '3050 Club 7 countries' over 11 years (2008-2018) after the 2008 global financial crisis using 'OECD Labor Force Statistics.' On the 23rd, it announced that South Korea increased by 1,054,000 (48.6%) from 2,169,000 in 2008 to 3,223,000 in 2018.

The 3050 Club refers to countries with a per capita national income of $30,000 and a population of over 50 million, including South Korea, Japan, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

During the same period, the average annual growth rate of part-time workers working less than 30 hours per week in the seven countries was found to be 1.4%. South Korea's average annual growth rate was 4.0%, the highest among the comparison countries, followed by ▲Japan 2.4% ▲Italy 1.3% ▲France 1.2% ▲United Kingdom and Germany 0.9% ▲United States 0.7%.

The proportion of part-time workers among all workers also increased by 2.9 percentage points in South Korea, from 9.3% in 2008 to 12.2% in 2018, the second highest increase after Japan (4.3 percentage points). This figure is 2.4 times the average increase of 1.2 percentage points among the 3050 Club 7 countries.

The increase in the proportion of part-time workers by country is ▲Japan +4.3 percentage points (19.6% in 2008 → 23.9% in 2018) ▲South Korea +2.9 percentage points (9.3%→12.2%) ▲Italy +2.0 percentage points (16.0%→18.0%) ▲France +1.0 percentage points (13.0%→14.0%) ▲Germany +0.2 percentage points (21.8%→22.0%) ▲United Kingdom +0.2 percentage points (23.0%→23.2%) ▲United States -0.1 percentage points (12.8%→12.7%) in order.

The Korea Economic Research Institute cited the rapid increase in minimum wage and linked weekly holiday allowances increasing labor costs, excessive protection of regular workers and high dismissal costs causing employment rigidity, and the prolonged economic recession shrinking companies' employment capacity as reasons why South Korea's number of part-time workers increased the fastest among major countries.

Choo Kwang-ho, head of economic policy at the Korea Economic Research Institute, said, "In South Korea, the speed of increase in short-time workers is significantly faster than in major countries due to the increased labor cost burden on employers caused by the rapid rise in minimum wage and the expansion of government-funded jobs. It is necessary to determine the minimum wage considering companies' productivity and payment capacity, and to enhance private sector employment creation capacity by revitalizing companies through deregulation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.