Last Year Employment Decreased by 218,000... Largest Drop in 22 Years Since the 1998 Financial Crisis (Comprehensive)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Last year, the number of employed people sharply declined by 218,000 compared to the previous year, marking the largest decrease since the 1998 IMF financial crisis. This was due to the rapid contraction of economic activities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading companies to reduce hiring and freezing the employment market in certain sectors such as the service industry.

According to the 'December 2020 and Annual Employment Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the 13th, the number of employed people last year was 26.904 million, down 218,000 (-0.8%) from the previous year. This is the first annual decrease in employment since 2009 (a decrease of 87,000), and the largest drop in 22 years since the financial crisis in 1998 (a decrease of 1.276 million).

The annual decrease in employment compared to the previous year has occurred only five times: during the severe economic crises of ▲1984 Oil Shock (decrease of 76,000) ▲1998 Financial Crisis (decrease of 1.276 million) ▲2003 Credit Card Crisis (decrease of 10,000) ▲2009 Global Financial Crisis (decrease of 87,000), and last year.

During the same period, the number of unemployed people was 1.108 million, an increase of 45,000 (4.2%) compared to 2019. The overall employment rate was 60.1%, down 0.8 percentage points from the previous year.

By industry, the largest decrease in employment was in wholesale and retail trade and accommodation and food services, down 319,000 (-5.3%) compared to the previous year, followed by manufacturing, which decreased by 53,000 (-1.2%). Construction also declined by 4,000 (-0.2%).

By employment status, temporary workers numbered 4.483 million, down 313,000 (-6.5%) from the previous year, and daily workers were 1.328 million, sharply decreasing by 101,000 (-7.1%). Self-employed persons with employees were 1.372 million, down 165,000 (-10.8%), and unpaid family workers were 1.042 million, down 35,000 (-3.3%). Regular employees increased by 305,000 (2.1%) to 14.521 million, and solo self-employed persons without employees rose by 90,000 (2.2%) to 4.159 million.

The economically inactive population who were neither employed nor seeking jobs increased overall by 455

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