Among the 360,000 Increased Employment Insurance Subscribers, 200,000 Are Government Jobs

October Labor Market Trends Announced by Ministry of Employment on 9th
Increase in Non-Face-to-Face Service Sector, Decline in Face-to-Face and Manufacturing
Growth in Subscribers in Their 20s, Continued Decrease in 30s

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The employment growth trend supported by government job projects continued last month. The number of employment insurance subscribers increased by about 360,000 compared to last year, with approximately 200,000 of those in the public administration sector.

Due to the resurgence of COVID-19, employment shocks in face-to-face service industries such as accommodation, food service, and wholesale, as well as manufacturing, persisted.

According to the 'October Labor Market Trends' announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 9th, the number of employment insurance subscribers last month was 14.23 million, an increase of 364,000 compared to the same month last year.

The increase in employment insurance subscribers hit a low point in May due to the COVID-19 pandemic but has been improving since June. In June, the number increased by 184,000; in July by 186,000; in August by 262,000; and in September by 337,000.

By industry, the service sector led the increase in subscribers with a rise of 393,000 compared to the same month last year.

Within the service sector, the public administration field, which includes government job projects, saw the largest increase with 198,900 people. This is the highest since November 2009 (227,000), when the financial crisis had an impact. In September, the increase was 181,000 compared to the same month last year.

Following public administration, significant increases were seen in health and welfare (101,700), professional scientific and technical services (60,500), and publishing, video, and communication (27,100).

However, accommodation and food services decreased by 22,000 compared to the same month last year. The decline widened compared to September (13,000). Accommodation decreased by 7,300, food services by 21,200, while beverage services increased by 6,100.

Wholesale also decreased by 12,400. Since turning negative in April due to COVID-19, the decline has continued.

Kwon Ki-seop, Director of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, stated, "While subscribers are increasing in government job projects and non-face-to-face industries, domestic industries such as tourism, shopping, and dining continue to face difficulties. In particular, accommodation and food services have seen an expanded decrease."

He added, "Due to the spread of non-face-to-face industries and telecommuting, sectors such as non-store retail, parcel delivery and warehouse transportation services, and software development have continued to see an expanding increase, indicating that COVID-19 is also influencing changes in industrial structure."

Manufacturing has been declining since September last year. Last month, it decreased by 45,000 compared to the same month last year. However, the decline has somewhat slowed, centered on electronics and telecommunications (-6,300) and automobiles (-8,300).

By gender, male subscribers increased by 125,000 and female subscribers by 238,000. By age, those under 29 turned positive (3,000), and those aged 40 to 60 and above all maintained an increasing trend. However, the 30s age group continued its negative trend with a decrease of 54,000.

The number of new job-seeker benefit applicants last month was 88,000. Mainly, manufacturing (16,000), wholesale and retail (12,900), construction (10,100), business services (9,200), and accommodation and food services (8,700) applied.

The amount of job-seeker benefits paid was 994.6 billion KRW. Considering that the amount had recently exceeded 1 trillion KRW monthly, last month's expenditure slightly decreased. The Ministry of Employment and Labor analyzed this as an effect of reduced working days due to the Chuseok holiday travel.

The total number of job-seeker benefit recipients last month was 643,000, an increase of 214,000 compared to the same month last year. The average benefit amount per case was 1.44 million KRW.

As of the end of last month, the cumulative amount of job-seeker benefits paid was 9.9 trillion KRW. The Ministry expects no fund depletion issues as this year's job-seeker benefit budget reaches 13 trillion KRW.

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