COVID-19 Female Employment Shock... 780,000 Jobs Created and Employment Support Expanded

Announcement of COVID-19 Female Employment Crisis Recovery Measures
Women’s Jobs Concentrated in Service Industry Severely Impacted by COVID-19
Expansion of Public and Private Sector Women’s Jobs... Care, Education, Digital, etc.
Extension of Emergency Care Support and Expansion of Training Cost Support for Employment Crisis Sectors

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] To offset the significant decline in the number of employed women since last year due to COVID-19, the government plans to create 780,000 women’s jobs this year. Alongside this, efforts will be made to improve working conditions in sectors predominantly occupied by women, such as introducing a national qualification system for care workers and enacting a law on the employment of domestic workers.

On the 4th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and other related ministries announced the "COVID-19 Women’s Employment Crisis Recovery Measures" at the Seoul Government Complex. The main points include ▲expansion of public and private women’s jobs ▲strengthening support for employment and entrepreneurship to facilitate labor market re-entry ▲support for care and employment retention.

Minister Jeong Young-ae of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family stated, "To overcome the urgent employment crisis caused by COVID-19, it is necessary to fundamentally improve the structure of women’s jobs by eliminating gender and industry segregation in short-term tasks and improving working conditions in jobs held predominantly by women." She added, "Through supplementary budgets, we will expand women’s jobs in the public and private sectors and create various women’s jobs focusing on fields expected to expand services such as care, education, and digital sectors."

Last year, the female employment rate turned downward, and the number of employed women in their 30s to 50s significantly decreased due to COVID-19. The employment rate for women aged 15 to 64 was 56.7% last year, down 1.1 percentage points. The decrease in the number of employed women in 2020 was 137,000, which is 55,000 more than the decrease in men (82,000). In particular, the decline in the number of employed women in their 30s and 50s, who drive the female employment rate, was -3.6% and -3.7%, respectively, higher than the average decline of -2.9%.

The impact was severe in face-to-face service industries where women mainly work, and due to the high proportion of temporary jobs among women’s employment, the "COVID-19 job losses" among women were significant. The three major industries with the largest decrease in employment last year?retail, accommodation and food services, and educational services?account for about 62% of female employment.

Support for 77,000 with Supplementary Budget... Creation of 780,000 Women’s Jobs This Year

The government aims to create 780,000 women’s jobs in the public and private sectors this year by providing additional support for 77,000 people through the supplementary budget. It will expand 57,000 jobs mainly in sectors with increasing demand such as care, digital, and quarantine. Special employment promotion incentives will be provided to companies hiring women who have experienced career interruptions, covering 18,000 people. Through expanding the Saeil Women Intern program and supporting R&D female researchers’ salaries, 20,000 jobs will be created.

Employment retention support for women facing increased care burdens due to closures of schools and daycare centers will also be strengthened. The emergency family care cost support, which was temporarily provided up to 10,000 KRW per person last year, will be extended. To expand one-on-one care services, the number of childcare workers (Idolbomies) will be increased by 3,000 this year to a total of 8,800. The target for livelihood support (500,000 KRW per person) for home care workers will be increased by 60,000 from the existing 90,000. Specialized training courses will be newly established for industries facing employment crises, and training costs will be expanded. Employment services for job changes and career transitions will also be provided through Saeil Centers and others.

To help women who lost jobs to recover, customized employment and entrepreneurship support will be strengthened, and support for vocational training in new technologies and skilled fields will be expanded. The selective program under the National Employment Support System, implemented since January for non-active job seekers, will focus on supporting employment for middle-aged women. Additionally, the scale of the K-Digital Credit program, a digital competency enhancement training course, will be doubled. When participating in beginner to intermediate digital training with the National Learning Card, an additional 500,000 KRW will be provided separately from the existing limit.

Research on Introducing National Qualification System for Care Workers and Enactment of Law to Improve Employment of Domestic Workers

Improvement efforts to strengthen the job foundation suitable for the future labor market will also be carried out. The number of Social Service Centers will be expanded to 14 this year to increase direct employment of care workers, and the introduction of a national qualification system for care workers will be reviewed. A law concerning the improvement of employment for domestic workers will be enacted to protect working conditions through direct employment. The Affirmative Action (AA) system, which had limitations in improving gender segregation by industry, will be reformed with measures such as introducing absolute evaluation elements.

Minister Jeong explained, "Regarding the introduction of the national qualification system for care workers, we are promoting it through a research project in the first half of the year, and for the enactment of the law to improve employment of domestic workers, we have held meetings with stakeholders and collected opinions through field visits."

Minister Jeong said, "With the supplementary budget projects, job expansion, employment and entrepreneurship support, employment retention, and efforts to eliminate gender gaps in the labor market, about 1.3 million women will benefit from these policies. The government will strive to overcome the women’s employment crisis and achieve an inclusive leap into the future labor market."

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