360,000 Business Workers Decrease 'Record High'... COVID-19 Employment Shock

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Due to the employment shock caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) crisis, the number of workers employed by domestic businesses last month decreased by the largest margin ever recorded.

According to the Business Workforce Survey results announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 28th, as of the last business day of last month, the total number of workers employed by domestic businesses with one or more employees was 18,224,000, down 365,000 (2.0%) compared to the same month last year.

Since the employment statistics of the Business Workforce Survey began in June 2009, the number of business workers had continuously increased, but it decreased by 225,000 for the first time in March this year, followed by a further decline in April.

The reality that the employment shock from the COVID-19 crisis is mainly concentrated on vulnerable groups was confirmed once again this time.

Looking at the change in the number of business workers by employment status, regular workers decreased by only 0.9% (133,000) compared to the same month last year, but temporary and daily workers decreased by 7.9% (144,000), and other workers also decreased by 7.5% (87,000).

Other workers are those who receive commissions based on sales performance without a fixed salary, and many special-type workers (teukgo), such as private tutors, are also included.

By business size, workers in businesses with 300 or more employees, including large corporations, increased by 14,000 (0.5%), but businesses with fewer than 300 employees decreased by 379,000 (2.4%).

By industry, workers in accommodation and food services decreased by 166,000, showing the largest decline. Education services (-93,000), travel and business facility management (-59,000), and wholesale and retail trade (-55,000) also saw significant decreases. These industries were directly hit by the avoidance of face-to-face contact and social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Workers in the manufacturing industry, the backbone of the domestic industry, also decreased by 56,000. The number of manufacturing workers turned negative in February and the decline continued to deepen in March and April.

Last month, the number of new hires at domestic businesses decreased by 69,000 (7.7%) compared to the same month last year, while the number of separations increased by 76,000 (9.5%).

The decrease in new hires was mainly due to businesses reducing or postponing recruitment. Among new hires, recruitment decreased by 112,000, while other types of entry such as transfers and reinstatements increased by 43,000.

Looking at separations by type, involuntary separations including layoffs decreased by 8,000 (1.8%), while other separations surged by 100,000 (174.0%).

Other separations include unpaid leave. It can be seen that businesses are still maintaining employment through leave rather than layoffs. However, if the employment shock continues, there are concerns that these workers may become targets of large-scale layoffs.

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