"This Year Has Ended Like This" Job Seekers Crying Amid Employment Freeze

October Employment Numbers Show Largest Decline in 6 Months
Statistics Korea: "Decrease Narrowed in Education Services and Wholesale/Retail"
Yet Job Seekers Still Feel the 'Employment Freeze'
Experts: "Government Must Develop Policies to Revitalize Businesses"

Job seekers are looking for employment at a job fair.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and Seulgi Kim] Amid the ongoing deterioration of employment market indicators due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the number of employed persons in October recorded the largest decrease in six months, deepening the sighs of job seekers. In particular, the number of employed persons in their 20s and 30s decreased the most by age group, suggesting that youth unemployment issues are likely to worsen further.

According to the 'October Employment Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 11th, the number of employed persons last month was 27,088,000, down 421,000 from a year earlier. This is the largest decrease since April (-476,000), following the full-scale domestic impact of COVID-19 that began in March.

According to Statistics Korea, the number of employed persons has decreased for eight consecutive months: March (-195,000), April (-476,000), May (-392,000), June (-352,000), July (-277,000), August (-274,000), and September (-392,000). This is the longest period of decline since the eight consecutive months of decrease from January to August 2009, right after the global financial crisis.

By industry, the number of employed persons continued to decline in accommodation and food services (-227,000), wholesale and retail trade (-188,000), education services (-103,000), and manufacturing (-98,000).

Among these, accommodation and food services saw a decrease similar to September (-225,000) due to the easing of social distancing measures compared to the previous year. The decrease in education services, centered on private academies, and wholesale and retail trade was smaller than the previous month.

Jung Dong-wook, head of the Employment Trends Division at Statistics Korea, explained, "The decrease in manufacturing has expanded," but added, "Due to the adjustment of social distancing to level 1, the decrease in education services and wholesale and retail trade has narrowed." This means that with the easing of distancing, the decrease in the number of employed persons in education services and wholesale and retail sectors is not significant.

As the number of employed people in October recorded the largest decrease in six months, frustrations continued to be expressed on online job seeker communities and other platforms. Photo by Naver, captured from the 'Dokhage Chwieophaneun Saramdeul' cafe.

However, the perception among job seekers was different. They unanimously said, "The job market is not improving at all." Especially young job seekers in their 20s and 30s expressed anxiety about the future and felt a sense of crisis due to the employment downturn.

According to Statistics Korea, the decrease in the number of employed persons in their 20s and 30s was higher compared to other age groups. Except for those in their 60s (an increase of 375,000), employment decreased in all other age groups: 15-29 (-250,000), 30-39 (-240,000), 40-49 (-192,000), and 50-59 (-114,000).

Park Su-cheol (pseudonym, 28), who has been preparing for employment for three years, said, "As the years go by, I get older, but the doors to the job market seem to be getting narrower, which is bleak. I no longer worry about my parents' eyes. Rather, my parents are the ones watching me anxiously," he lamented.

Park added, "Every day feels like walking on thin ice. I feel sorry to see my parents' faces looking at me with pity. I know that everyone is struggling due to COVID-19, but I hope companies and the government will make efforts for young people." He continued, "Until last year, there were frequent open and rolling recruitments, but this year, job postings are as rare as beans in a drought. I have no idea what to do," revealing his bleak outlook.

Expressions of frustration continued in online job seeker communities. Some members voiced hopeful messages like "Let's gather strength again for the first half of next year," but most members expressed feelings of frustration and anxiety, saying things like "It's frustrating and anxious," "Another year is passing like this," "I want to get a job next year," "How do I endure tomorrow again?" and "I want to be confident in front of my family," expressing their sense of helplessness.

Experts pointed out the need to prepare policies to expand employment.

Professor Kim Tae-gi of Dankook University's Department of Economics said, "The perceived unemployment rate felt by young people is increasing. Because of this, the stress and suffering of job seekers are growing," and suggested, "To increase hiring, companies need to be able to expand their recruitment scale. The government needs to prepare related policies to help companies gain vitality."

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