The Proportion of Self-Employed with Employees Was the Lowest in 31 Years

The appearance of Myeongdong Street in Jung-gu, Seoul, which has lost its vitality due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic./Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] The number of self-employed individuals who hired employees last month was the lowest in 31 years since July 1990 for the same month.

According to the July employment trends recently announced by Statistics Korea, the number of 'self-employed with employees' last month stood at 1,274,000, a decrease of 71,000 compared to the same month a year earlier. This marks the 32nd consecutive month of decline since December 2018, the longest period of decrease since related statistics began. Amid the Moon Jae-in administration's minimum wage hikes, which already increased the number of self-employed people letting go of employees, the COVID-19 pandemic has further compounded the situation.

Last month's overall employment indicators still showed a tendency to maintain the recovery trend that began in the first half of the year. The total number of employed persons last month was 27,648,000, an increase of 542,000 compared to the same month last year.

However, the rate of increase in the number of employed persons has been slowing for three consecutive months since April. In particular, examining employment by industry shows signs that the fourth wave of COVID-19, which began in earnest at the beginning of last month, is again impacting the job market.

Despite the overall increase in employment, the wholesale and retail trade sector, which has a high proportion of self-employed workers, decreased by 186,000. Especially, the accommodation and food service industry, directly affected by strengthened social distancing measures, decreased by 12,000, turning to a decline after four months. The arts, sports, and leisure services sector, considered vulnerable to COVID-19, also decreased by 28,000.

The survey period covered the time from July 11 to 17, when the fourth level of social distancing was first applied in the metropolitan area. Considering that employment indicators tend to be lagging economic indicators, the impact of the fourth wave of COVID-19 has not been fully reflected yet, raising concerns that the employment situation could worsen further this month.

Lee Eok-won, First Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, stated, "While difficulties are observed in COVID-19 vulnerable industries such as accommodation and food services, recent strengthened quarantine measures may cause shocks, so we are focusing our policy capabilities with vigilance."

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