Due to the Prolonged COVID-19 Pandemic, Large Corporations' Net Employment Decreased by 6,000 Last Year

CEO Score Investigates National Pension Subscribers at 497 Companies
Decline in Construction, Automotive, Household Goods; Untact-Benefiting IT and Electronics See Net Increase

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the number of new hires at the top 500 domestic companies decreased by about 6,000 last year. By industry, employment dropped by more than 1,000 in sectors such as construction, household goods, automotive and parts, shipbuilding, machinery and equipment, transportation, and telecommunications. In contrast, IT and electrical electronics, which benefited from the expansion of untact (non-face-to-face) services, saw an increase in employment, creating a stark contrast.

On the 3rd, CEO Score (CEO Park Joo-geun), a corporate evaluation site, surveyed the status of National Pension subscribers among 497 of the top 500 domestic companies whose National Pension subscription status is known. Last year, the number of new National Pension subscribers at these companies was 264,901, while the number of those who lost their subscription qualification was 270,803.

Acquisition of National Pension qualification means employment, and loss means resignation. Last year, the number of those who lost qualification exceeded those who acquired it, resulting in a net employment decrease of 5,902. The total number of National Pension subscribers at the surveyed companies also decreased by 12,870, from 1,664,961 at the end of 2019 to 1,650,291 at the end of last year.

Among the 22 industries, more than half?12 industries?saw a net decrease of 19,889 subscribers. By industry, the construction and building materials sector experienced the largest drop in employment. Last year, the number of National Pension acquisitions in the construction sector was 16,403, while the number of losses was 24,195, resulting in a net employment decrease of 7,792. Other industries with decreases of more than 1,000 included household goods (-3,516), automotive and parts (-1,771), shipbuilding, machinery and equipment (-1,551), transportation (-196), and telecommunications (-163).

The remaining 10 industries saw an increase of 13,987 subscribers. Among individual companies, Coupang recorded the largest net employment increase over one year, with 10,872 more employees. Coupang’s subsidiary, Coupang Fulfillment Service, also increased by 10,828. Samsung Electronics, which achieved approximately 36 trillion KRW in operating profit last year, saw a net increase of 3,552 employees. Other companies with net employment increases exceeding 1,000 included Hanwha Solutions (3,063), Homeplus (2,890), Coway (1,610), LG Innotek (1,608), and Lotte Chemical (1,127).

By month, net employment decreased the most in December last year (-13,175), followed by March (-7,331) and April (-3,019), when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. Park Joo-geun, CEO of CEO Score, forecasted, "With the third wave of COVID-19 continuing this year, there is a possibility that the employment market shock will intensify, especially in the first quarter."

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