Number of Business Operators Increases After 12 Months... Accommodation and Food Services Still Sluggish

Ministry of Employment Announces March Business Workforce Survey
Number of Workers Increased but Regular Employees Down by 20,000
Food and Accommodation Face-to-Face Sectors Still Hit Hard

A karaoke room in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd of last month. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] As social distancing measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 were eased, the number of workers in business establishments increased last month for the first time in 12 months. However, the number of regular employees, considered relatively stable jobs, and workers in face-to-face industries such as food and accommodation still declined.

According to the "March Business Establishment Labor Survey" released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 29th, the number of workers in business establishments with one or more employees as of the last business day of last month was 18.501 million, an increase of 223,000 (1.2%) from 18.278 million in the same month last year. This marks the first increase in 12 months since March last year. After the third wave of COVID-19, the number of workers decreased by 334,000 in December last year, 351,000 in January this year, and 170,000 in February, but the rate of decline was narrowing, and it finally turned to an increase. A Ministry of Employment and Labor official explained, "The increase in the number of workers in March was due to the maintenance of eased social distancing measures and the base effect of the decrease in the number of workers caused by COVID-19 in March last year."

Source: Ministry of Employment and Labor

The number of regular employees decreased by 20,000 (-0.1%) compared to the same month last year. The rate of decline narrowed compared to the record highs of -267,000 in December last year, -303,000 in January, and -218,000 in February. Temporary and daily workers increased by 202,000 (12.3%).

Other workers, including special employment types (such as private tutors and door-to-door salespeople), increased by 41,000 (3.8%). They had been declining with -58,000 in December last year, -22,000 in January, and -16,000 in February, but turned to an increase last month.

Both large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises saw an increase in workers. Regular employees in companies with fewer than 300 employees increased by 187,000 (1.2%) year-on-year to 15.538 million, while those in companies with 300 or more employees increased by 36,000 (1.2%) to 2.963 million.

The face-to-face service industries, which were hit hard by COVID-19, have not yet fully recovered from the shock. The number of workers in the food and accommodation industry decreased by 59,000 (-5.3%) compared to the same month last year. Although the decline narrowed compared to the record decreases of -226,000 in December last year, -240,000 in January, and -162,000 in February, it still decreased. Manufacturing decreased by 46,000 (-1.2%), and business facility management, business support, and rental services including manpower supply decreased by 34,000 (-3.1%).

In February, the total wage per worker in business establishments with one or more regular employees was 3.95 million KRW, an increase of 547,000 KRW (16.1%) compared to the same month last year. The wage for regular employees was 4.176 million KRW, up 589,000 KRW (16.4%), and for temporary and daily workers, it was 1.57 million KRW, up 110,000 KRW (7.5%). A Ministry of Employment and Labor official explained, "The main reason for the significant increase in special payments is that the holiday bonuses were paid in January last year but in February this year." The average real wage per worker, adjusted for inflation, was 3.667 million KRW in January and February, a 3.5% increase compared to the same period last year.

The average monthly working hours per worker in February were 142.8 hours, a decrease of 14.3 hours (9.1%) compared to the same month last year. This was influenced by the fact that the number of working days in the calendar decreased by two days from 20 days last year to 18 days. Regular employees worked 147.8 hours on average, down 15.8 hours (-9.7%), while temporary and daily workers worked 89.4 hours, up 0.3 hours (0.3%).

The Business Establishment Labor Survey is conducted to understand the total number of workers in business establishments and the total wages of workers. Subcontracted workers without fixed workplaces in the construction industry and domestic workers employed in household service industries are excluded.

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