Hong Nam-ki "May Employment Drops Sharply... In-Person Sectors' Employment Slowly Recovers"

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said on the 10th, "For three consecutive months since last March, the number of employed people has sharply decreased compared to the same month last year," adding, "My heart is heavy with concern for those struggling due to the reduction in jobs."

On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Hong held a meeting of related ministers (Noksil Meeting) at the Government Sejong Complex to discuss the 'May employment trends' affected by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and posted an evaluation related to this on Facebook.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "The decrease of 392,000 in May employment stands out," and added, "The situation remains significantly worse compared to before COVID-19." According to the May employment trends announced by Statistics Korea on the day, the number of employed people last month decreased by 392,000 compared to the same month last year. This marks a decrease of over 300,000 for three consecutive months.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong assessed that it is difficult to predict how the employment situation will unfold in the future. Given the high external dependency of our economy, the global spread of COVID-19 is expected to have a significant impact. Hong expressed concern, saying, "The spread of COVID-19 remains severe worldwide," and "Exports are declining due to economic contraction in trading partner countries, and the aftermath is negatively affecting manufacturing employment."

However, he noted that it is fortunate that the employment situation in May has improved compared to April. Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "Employment in industries with a high proportion of face-to-face work, such as accommodation and food services and education, which were most affected by the shock of COVID-19, is gradually recovering."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong emphasized, "As important as formulating policies is minimizing policy lag," and stressed, "To respond swiftly to the highly uncertain employment market situation, the third supplementary budget bill must be finalized as early as possible within June."

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