'Corona Shock' Causes Number of Office Workers to Decline for Four Consecutive Months... Working Hours Also Reduced by 17 Hours

Ministry of Employment and Labor Announces 'June Establishment Labor Force Survey Results'

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The number of workers employed at domestic businesses has been declining for four consecutive months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Influenced by company closures and leaves of absence, working hours in May decreased by more than 17 hours compared to last year.

According to the June Business Workforce Survey results announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 30th, as of the last business day of last month, the number of workers employed at domestic businesses with one or more employees was 18,367,000, a decrease of 214,000 (-1.2%) compared to the same month last year.

The number of business workers turned negative for the first time this year in March (-225,000). Compared to the 300,000-level decrease recorded in April and May, the decline narrowed somewhat last month.

By industry, the number of workers increased by 94,000 in health and social welfare, 49,000 in public administration, defense, and social security administration, and 32,000 in professional, scientific, and technical services last month.

On the other hand, industries hit hard by the spread of COVID-19 saw decreases: accommodation and food services dropped by 133,000, manufacturing by 77,000, and business facility management, business support, and rental services by 60,000.

In particular, the manufacturing sector has shown a continuous expansion in the decrease of workers since March. Compared to the previous year, manufacturing hires decreased by 12,000, while job changes increased by 14,000.

By employment status, the number of regular workers decreased by 126,000 (-0.8%), temporary and daily workers by 41,000 (-2.2%), and other workers including special-type workers (special employment types) decreased by 48,000 (-4.1%).

By business size, workplaces with 300 or more employees increased by 20,000 (0.7%), while those with fewer than 300 employees decreased by 234,000 (-1.5%).

As of May, the total wage per worker was 3,287,000 KRW, an increase of 1.2% (40,000 KRW) compared to the same month last year. Besides the impact of COVID-19, a decrease in special payments is also analyzed to have contributed to the slowdown in wage growth.

Regular workers recorded 3,451,000 KRW, up 0.2%, and temporary and daily workers recorded 1,640,000 KRW, up 9.0%. For businesses with 300 or more employees, wages rose 0.3% to 4,550,000 KRW, while those with fewer than 300 employees increased 1.2% to 3,041,000 KRW.

The average monthly working hours per worker was 150.2 hours, down 17.4 hours from the previous year. Regular workers worked 155.6 hours, down 20.1 hours, while temporary and daily workers remained the same at 95.9 hours. For businesses with 300 or more employees, working hours decreased by 16.6 hours to 151.4 hours, and for those with fewer than 300 employees, hours dropped 17.6 hours to 150 hours.

Regarding this, a Ministry of Employment and Labor official stated, "The decrease in the number of working days by two days compared to last year on the calendar, along with the increase in company closures and leaves of absence due to COVID-19, appear to have acted in combination."

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