"Job Centers Leave Daily Workers Waiting Without Promise of Employment"...The Cry of Day Laborers

"Living Day by Day..."
Temporary and Daily Workers Hit Hard by COVID-19

Job Centers Report "60% Drop in Security, Cleaning, and Restaurant Helper Jobs"
650,000 Jobs Lost Last Month

Urgent Need for Policies Supporting Vulnerable Workers and Employers, Including Employment Retention and Tax Benefits

On the 11th, a job placement agency in Jongno-gu, Seoul was visited. The door is firmly closed.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Jeong Hyun-im (65), who has lived as a daily wage cleaner for about 10 years. Since losing her job four months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her sighs have increased. Companies that employed daily wage workers faced difficulties due to COVID-19, causing work to stop abruptly. She is currently going from one job placement agency to another to earn living expenses. However, she only receives answers saying "there are no jobs." Jeong said, "I asked them to contact me if a job becomes available, but I haven't heard anything for months," adding, "No matter how much or where, if I can just get a daily wage, I am willing to work." That day, she pleaded at a job placement agency for over an hour but ultimately returned empty-handed.

As the economy contracted due to COVID-19, a harsh employment cliff swept over daily and temporary workers. Inquiries to job placement agencies looking for "people to work today" decreased, making it difficult for those who live day-to-day to sustain their livelihoods. Job placement agencies visited on the 11th unanimously said, "There are no jobs these days." Yoon (63), the head of job placement agency A in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, said, "We used to connect about 40 restaurant assistant jobs per day, but now it has dropped to about 3 to 4," adding, "Since restaurants are struggling, owners handle the work themselves without hiring part-timers, so they don't even inquire at job placement agencies." He continued, "Since COVID-19, restaurant assistant jobs have almost disappeared, and even the remaining construction site jobs are gradually vanishing."

Kang (65), the manager of job placement agency B in Jongno-gu, also said, "Security, cleaning, and restaurant assistant jobs seem to have decreased by about 60% compared to before the COVID-19 situation," adding, "As it became known that job placement agencies have no effective solutions, the number of people visiting here has also dropped by nearly half."

The drought in job opportunities quickly leads to the closure of job placement agencies. Job placement agency C in Jongno-gu reportedly closed its doors for over two months as not only did inquiries for workers disappear, but also people looking for daily and temporary jobs vanished. Nearby job placement agency D closed temporarily, leaving only a contact number at the entrance.

According to the 'May 2020 Employment Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the 10th, wage workers decreased by 260,000 compared to last year, with temporary and daily workers decreasing by 501,000 and 152,000 respectively. On the other hand, regular workers increased by 393,000. In April, temporary and daily employment decreased by 783,000, marking the largest drop since statistics began in January 1989. In March, it decreased by 593,000.

Experts call for policies to support daily and temporary workers, the most vulnerable group affected by COVID-19-related job losses. Professor Cho Dong-geun of Myongji University's Department of Economics said, "Daily and temporary workers or socially marginalized laborers feel the impact of COVID-19 the most, so urgent policies to support them are needed," adding, "The government should also provide tax benefits and other support so that companies and businesses can employ and maintain the employment status of these workers."

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