"Half of Listed Companies in the First Half See Employee Numbers Decline... Sales and Operating Profit Also Decrease"

Korea Economic Research Institute Analyzes Employee Scale of Listed Companies in First Half of Year... "Need to Expand Employment Capacity"

Data provided by Korea Economic Research Institute

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Nearly half of the listed companies reduced their number of employees in the first half of this year, and it is expected that this employment shock will be prolonged due to the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Korea Economic Research Institute under the Federation of Korean Industries announced on the 13th that a survey of the number of employees in the first half of 2018-2021 for 1,816 KOSPI and KOSDAQ listed companies showed that 859 companies (47.3%) reduced their number of employees compared to the same period last year.

The KOSPI market, which consists of relatively larger companies, saw a greater scale of employee reduction. Among 688 KOSPI-listed companies, 333 (48.4%) reduced their workforce, while among 1,128 KOSDAQ-listed companies, 526 (46.6%) did so.

The Korea Economic Research Institute expressed concern, stating, "If about half of the listed companies, which are considered to have relatively better management environments, are experiencing employment shocks, the job situation in small and micro enterprises is likely to be even more pessimistic."

Number of Listed Companies Reducing Employees Decreased Compared to Last Year but Has Not Returned to Pre-COVID-19 Levels

The Korea Economic Research Institute stated that although the number of listed companies reducing employees decreased compared to last year due to the improving COVID-19 situation and expectations of economic recovery in the first half of this year, it has not recovered to the levels before the COVID-19 outbreak.

The proportion of listed companies reducing their workforce in the first half of this year (47.3%) decreased by 4.1 percentage points from last year (51.4%) but increased by 4.3 percentage points compared to 2019 (43.0%).

The total number of employees in listed companies has decreased every year since 2019. In the first half of this year, the total number of employees in listed companies was 1,441,000, down by 12,000 from last year (1,453,000), and 45,000 fewer than in 2019 before COVID-19 (1,486,000).

One in Ten Listed Companies Faces Triple Blow of Sales, Operating Profit, and Employment

Two hundred forty listed companies (13.2%) experienced a triple hardship in the first half of this year, with simultaneous decreases in employee numbers, sales, and operating profits. Among these, 156 companies (13.8%) were in the KOSDAQ market, which was higher than the 84 companies (12.2%) in the KOSPI market.

The Korea Economic Research Institute explained that sales, operating profit, and employee numbers represent a company's growth potential, current profitability, and future investment, respectively, and that the triple blow to listed companies is likely to lead to an overall decline in the vitality of the Korean economy.

Choo Kwang-ho, Director of Economic Policy at the Korea Economic Research Institute, said, "Due to the resurgence of COVID-19 and increased domestic and international uncertainties, companies are hesitant to increase employment. The government must make every effort to provide policy support to expand employment capacity, such as easing corporate regulations and enhancing employment flexibility."

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