Despite 360,000 Decrease in Employment Among 2030s... Government to Provide Support Funds to Only 30,000 Selected Individuals

Employment Success Package Type 2 "Application Possible Regardless of Income"
Youth Special Job-Seeking Support Fund, Ambiguous Justification for Urgency and Welfare Expenditure Payments

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The government’s special job-seeking support fund for unemployed low-income youth, which provides 500,000 won per person, is sparking controversy over fairness. This is because, amid the delay in new hiring caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, only 30,000 out of the total 200,000 eligible recipients will be newly selected.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 14th, the special job-seeking support fund will be given first priority to those participating in Employment Success Package Type 1 (100,000 people) and those receiving Youth Job-Seeking Activity Support Fund (70,000 people). The remaining 30,000 will be accepted on the premise that they participate in Employment Success Package Type 2.

Employment Success Package Type 1 targets unemployed youth with a median income of 60% or less, providing participation allowances of 200,000 to 250,000 won and job training participation support allowances of up to 284,000 won per month. The Job-Seeking Activity Support Fund provides 500,000 won per month for up to six months to unemployed youth from households with a median income of 120% or less who have graduated or dropped out within two years. In contrast, Employment Success Package Type 2 is open to anyone regardless of income.

However, since the budget is limited to 100 billion won, if the number of new applicants is high, income criteria will be used to limit recipients. A Ministry of Employment and Labor official said, "About 6,000 to 7,000 people apply for Employment Success Package Type 2 each month. It seems the budget will not be insufficient, but if it is, we will select recipients based on income criteria and willingness to work." Ultimately, all youth can apply through Employment Success Package Type 2, but depending on budget conditions, some may not receive support.

The problem is that the youth employment market is at rock bottom. Complaints are emerging that it is unfair to support only some low-income groups when everyone is struggling due to hiring delays caused by COVID-19. A 29-year-old resident of Gangdong-gu, Mr. A, said, "It’s the same that we can’t get jobs because of COVID, so I don’t understand why income is used as a criterion. It would have been better to provide free online lectures to everyone."

According to the 'August Employment Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the 9th, the number of employed people in their 20s decreased by 139,000, and those in their 30s decreased by 230,000. The Employment Supplementary Indicator 3 (expanded unemployment rate), which reflects the perceived unemployment rate, rose by 2.3 percentage points from a year ago to 13.3%.

In response, Professor Kim Soyoung of Seoul National University’s Department of Economics said, "It is unclear whether providing support funds to unemployed low-income youth is due to the urgency of COVID-19 or welfare expenditure. If it is a policy targeting low-income groups, household property status should be considered along with income."

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