The Decrease in February Employment Numbers Narrowed... "Restaurant and Accommodation Job Impact Was Greater"

Decrease in Employed Population Across All Age Groups Except Those in Their 60s
12 Consecutive Months of Decline...Longest Trend Since the IMF Financial Crisis

On the 16th, a citizen visiting an Employment Welfare Plus Center in Seoul is looking over a guide for unemployment benefit recipients. According to the 'September Employment Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the same day, the number of employed people last month was 27,012,000, a decrease of 392,000 compared to one year ago. This is the largest decline in four months since May (392,000). Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] While the scale of the decrease in the number of employed people last month narrowed compared to the previous month, employment shocks in face-to-face consumption sectors such as restaurants and hotels seem to be continuing.

According to the 'February Employment Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the 17th, the number of employed people last month was 26,365,000, a decrease of 473,000 compared to February 2020. Although this is the longest record since the 1998 International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial crisis, the decrease is less than half compared to January, when the number of employed people dropped by a staggering 982,000 compared to the same month the previous year.

While employment indicators have generally improved due to the easing of social distancing and the resumption of public job projects, the decline in accommodation and food service industries continues. In this regard, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki stated, "We will focus on hiring 830,000 people, which is 80% of the direct job projects planned for this year in the public sector, and 28,000 people, which is 44% of social service jobs, during the first quarter to ensure the public sector plays a supporting role."

The number of employed people in accommodation and food services decreased by 232,000 compared to the same month last year. Employment in accommodation and food services has been declining for 12 consecutive months since March last year. Employment in wholesale and retail trade also decreased by 194,000 last month.

By age group, employment decreased in all age groups except those aged 60 and over (212,000). The employment rate for those aged 15 and over fell by 1.4 percentage points from the previous year to 58.6%, marking the lowest since May 2013 (57.5%). The number of unemployed increased by 201,000 compared to the same month last year to 1,353,000, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.8 percentage points to 4.9%.

Meanwhile, the economically inactive population was 17,269,000, an increase of 562,000 compared to the same month last year, of which the 'discouraged job seekers' increased by 218,000 to 752,000. In particular, the employment auxiliary indicator 3 (expanded unemployment rate), which includes employed people who think they can work more than now, rose by 3.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year to 15.7%. This is the highest since statistics began in 2015.

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