Unemployed Increased by 133,000 Last Month... Largest Rise in 20 Years (Update)

Statistics Korea, May Employment Trends

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyunjung and Joo Sangdon] The number of unemployed people has significantly increased due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The effects of COVID-19, which had previously been limited to a decrease in employed persons, have now spread to the unemployed population.

According to the 'May Employment Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 10th, the number of unemployed people reached 1,278,000, an increase of 133,000 (11.6%) compared to the same month last year. This increase is the largest since June 1999, when the related statistical standards were changed, and the highest for May since May 2000.

The increase in unemployment was particularly large among women. The number of unemployed women was 541,000, up 86,000 (18.9%). Among men, the number was 737,000, an increase of 47,000 (6.8%).

Along with the rise in unemployed persons, the unemployment rate also increased. The unemployment rate in May was 4.5%, up 0.5 percentage points compared to the same month last year.

The number of employed persons aged 15 and over last month was 26.93 million, a decrease of 392,000 (-1.4%) compared to the same month last year, marking a decline for three consecutive months. The employment rate fell by 1.3 percentage points to 60.2%.

By age group, all except those aged 60 and over experienced decreases. Those aged 60 and above increased by 302,000, while the 40s decreased by 187,000, the 30s by 183,000, the 50s by 140,000, and the 20s by 134,000.

By industry, employment increased in health and social welfare services (131,000; 6.0%), agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (54,000; 3.6%), and transportation and warehousing (50,000; 3.5%). In contrast, employment decreased in wholesale and retail trade (-189,000; -5.1%), accommodation and food services (-183,000; -7.9%), and associations, repair, and other personal services (-86,000; -6.8%).

Due to the impact of COVID-19, weekly working hours also decreased. The number of employed persons working 36 hours or more per week was 20.365 million, down 1.696 million (-7.7%), while those working less than 36 hours per week increased by 620,000 (12.6%) to 5.545 million. Consequently, the average weekly working hours fell by 2.4 hours to 38.9 hours compared to the same month last year.

The number of temporarily absent workers?those currently working zero hours due to illness, leave, education, etc., but expected to return within six months?was 1.02 million, an increase of 685,000 (204%) compared to the same month last year.

The economically inactive population was 16.548 million, up 555,000 (3.5%) compared to the same month last year. Among them, the 'resting' population was 2.286 million, an increase of 323,000 (16.5%), and discouraged job seekers also rose by 39,000 to 578,000.

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