Employment Decreased by 273,000 Last Month... Nine Consecutive Months of Decline (Update)

Statistics Korea, November Employment Trends

Employment Rate 60.7%... Down 1.0%P YoY
Unemployed Increase by 101,000... Rising for 7 Consecutive Months

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] It was revealed that the number of new employed persons decreased by more than 270,000 last month. Starting from March this year, when COVID-19 began to spread widely in Korea, the number of employed persons has declined for nine consecutive months.

On the 16th, Statistics Korea announced the 'November Employment Trends' containing this information.

According to the report, the number of employed persons aged 15 and over was 27,241,000, down 273,000 (-1.0%) compared to the same month last year. Although the decrease was smaller than in October (-421,000), the downward trend has continued for nine months. The employment rate was 60.7%, down 1.0 percentage point from the same month last year.

The phenomenon of employment increasing only among those aged 60 and over persisted. Employment in the 60+ age group increased by 372,000, but decreased by 209,000 in their 20s, 194,000 in their 30s, 135,000 in their 40s, and 74,000 in their 50s.

By industry, employment increased in public administration, defense, and social security administration (152,000; 13.6%), health and social welfare services (114,000; 5.0%), and construction (77,000; 3.7%), while it decreased in wholesale and retail trade (-166,000; -4.6%), accommodation and food services (-161,000; -7.0%), and manufacturing (-113,000; -2.5%).

The increase in the number of unemployed persons also continued. In November, the number of unemployed was 967,000, up 101,000 (11.7%) compared to the same month last year. Although the increase was smaller than in October (164,000), it has risen for seven consecutive months.

The unemployment rate was 3.4%, up 0.3 percentage points from the same month last year. The expanded unemployment rate, Employment Supplementary Indicator 3, was 13.0%, up 2.5 percentage points year-on-year. Especially, the expanded unemployment rate for youth (ages 15?29) rose to 24.4%, up 4.0 percentage points.

The economically inactive population in November was 16,675,000, up 431,000 (2.7%) compared to the same month last year. Those resting (218,000; 10.2%) and engaged in household duties (216,000; 3.8%) increased. The number of discouraged job seekers was 631,000, an increase of 144,000.

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