Business Job Openings Decrease by 50,000... Public Administration Increases by 200,000 Thanks to Government Jobs

Announcement of the 2020 Second Half Occupational and November Establishment Labor Force Survey Results

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the number of job openings at businesses with five or more employees in the third quarter of this year decreased by more than 50,000 compared to the same period last year.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 29th the results of the "2020 Second Half Job Category Business Labor Survey" and the "November 2020 Business Labor Survey."

Lowest Unfilled Positions on Record... Future Hiring Plans Down by 3,000

As of the third quarter of this year, the number of job openings at businesses with five or more regular employees recorded 621,000, down 51,000 (-7.6%) from the same period last year. The actual number of hires was 557,000, a decrease of 41,000 (-6.9%) compared to the third quarter of last year.

Regarding this, a Ministry of Employment official stated, "This was due to social distancing measures caused by the spread of COVID-19 and the reduction or postponement of hiring by businesses."

The industries with the highest number of job openings and hires were manufacturing, with 108,000 openings and 90,000 hires. Following were healthcare and social welfare services (88,000 openings, 80,000 hires), business facility management, business support and rental services (87,000 openings, 82,000 hires), and construction (85,000 openings, 82,000 hires).

The occupations with the highest number of job openings and hires were management, administration, and clerical positions (92,000 openings, 85,000 hires), construction and mining (57,000 openings, 56,000 hires), healthcare and medical positions (50,000 openings, 45,000 hires), and sales and marketing positions (43,000 openings, 39,000 hires).

The number of unfilled positions in the third quarter was 65,000, down 10,000 (-13.3%) from the same period last year. Unfilled positions refer to the number of job openings minus the number of hires, indicating the number of positions that businesses actively sought to fill but could not. The unfilled rate was 10.4%, down 0.7 percentage points from the same period last year. Both the number of unfilled positions and the unfilled rate were the lowest recorded for the third quarter since this survey item was first conducted in 2008.

The industries with the highest number of unfilled positions were manufacturing (18,000), transportation and warehousing (13,000), and healthcare and social welfare services (8,000). The occupations with the highest number of unfilled positions were drivers and transportation workers (15,000), management, administration, and clerical positions (8,000), healthcare and medical positions (5,000), simple manufacturing jobs (5,000), and sales and marketing positions (4,000).

The main reasons for unfilled positions were "no applicants with the experience required by the business (22.6%)" and "working conditions such as wage levels did not meet job seekers' expectations (21.9%)."

The hiring plan for the six months from the fourth quarter of this year to the first quarter of next year is 253,000, a decrease of 3,000 (-1.1%) compared to the same period last year.

Government Job Programs Support Employment... Public Administration Up by 207,000

As of November, the number of employees at businesses was 18,732,000, a decrease of 45,000 compared to the previous year. The number of employees has been declining for nine consecutive months since March.

In October, the decrease was about 40,000, the smallest year-on-year decline since March, but due to strengthened social distancing measures in the metropolitan area and elsewhere, the decline widened somewhat in November compared to the previous month.

Looking at employment trends by industry, public administration (up 207,000) and healthcare and social welfare services (up 95,000) increased, while service industries such as accommodation and food services (-186,000), business facility management and rental services (-65,000), wholesale and retail trade (-55,000), and arts and sports (-41,000) decreased. Manufacturing has continued to decline by about 70,000 for six consecutive months.

By employment status, the number of regular employees decreased by 233,000, mainly in accommodation and food services, manufacturing, and business facility management and rental services, continuing the downward trend.

Temporary and daily workers increased by 222,000. They increased in construction, public administration, and healthcare and welfare services, while decreasing in accommodation and food services and arts and sports.

Other workers, including special types of workers (special employment types) such as private tutors and door-to-door salespeople, decreased by 33,000.

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