Changwon City Sees Decrease in Number of Workers in Q1 for First Time in 3 Years... Employment Stability Support Fund Increases by 82%

On the 7th, job seekers participating in the 'Foreign Investment Companies Employment Consultation' held at the Grand Intercontinental Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are looking at the recruitment bulletin board. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kang Sharon] The Changwon Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Gyeongnam announced on the 23rd that based on employment information statistics from the Employment Information Service, the number of regular workers in Changwon City in the first quarter (January to March) of this year recorded 251,418, marking a decrease in the number of workers for the first time in three years.

The number of workers in Changwon, a representative manufacturing city in Korea, decreased by 1,692 (-0.67%) compared to last year and by 1,867 (-0.74%) compared to the previous quarter.

The number of workers declined in most industries, including manufacturing (-0.9%), service (-0.3%), and construction (-3.9%). The number of employed persons in the first quarter of this year was 36,026, down 14.5% compared to the same period last year, while the number of retirees (38,243) decreased by 0.8%.

The Changwon Chamber of Commerce and Industry analyzed that the relatively small increase in the number of retirees was largely due to the government's employment stabilization subsidies. The number of workers in the Changwon area who received employment stabilization subsidies in the first quarter of this year was 16,040, an increase of 91.2% compared to the same period last year. The subsidies also increased by 82.1% compared to the same period last year, reaching 12.7 billion KRW.

The Changwon Chamber of Commerce and Industry stated, "Although employment conditions worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, government employment stabilization measures such as employment stabilization subsidies played a significant buffering role," but also pointed out, "However, if the COVID-19 pandemic prolongs, an employment shock seems inevitable."

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