[2021 National Audit] One in Four Korean Workers is Temporary... Twice the OECD Average

Full-time Employment Rate for Workers Over 40 Hours per Week Drops 7%P in 4 Years of Moon Administration

Experts Say "Labor Market Stability Declines... Loosen Regulations and Enhance Labor Flexibility"

On the 6th, the Seoul Employment Welfare Plus Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The proportion of temporary workers with employment contracts of less than one year in the domestic labor market was found to be more than twice the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries. On the other hand, the employment rate of full-time workers has dropped by about 7% since the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in administration. It is pointed out that the stability of the labor market has significantly declined due to companies reducing open recruitment amid steep minimum wage hikes and labor regulations, as well as the government's policy of concentrating fiscal investment in short-term public jobs of around six months.

According to data received from the Ministry of Employment and Labor by Kim Seong-won, a member of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee from the People Power Party, the proportion of temporary workers in Korea last year was 26.1% of the total, more than twice the OECD average of 11.4%. In particular, after the Moon Jae-in administration took office in 2017, the proportion of temporary workers expanded from 20.6% in 2017 to 21.2% in 2018, 24.4% in 2019, and 26.1% last year. This means that while 20 out of 100 workers had jobs with contracts of less than one year in 2017, the number increased to 26 last year.

On the other hand, the number of full-time workers working more than 40 hours a week is steadily decreasing. Looking at the employment rate of full-time workers by year, it fell steadily from 65.1% in 2017 to 58.6% last year and 58.2% in May this year. This is 8.7 percentage points lower than the employment rate of 66.9% announced by Statistics Korea in May.

This is because the criteria for full-time workers differ between the OECD and Statistics Korea. The OECD counts a person who works 40 hours a week as one employed person, and if someone works 10 hours a week, they are counted as 0.25 persons. Statistics Korea counts anyone who works even one hour a week as one employed person. The OECD's full-time standard is somewhat stricter.

As the proportions of temporary and full-time workers diverge, employment instability has also increased. According to the 'August Business Labor Survey and July Wage and Working Hours Survey by City and Province' recently announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the monthly salary of temporary and daily workers in businesses with at least one regular worker in July was 1,713,000 won, less than half of the 3,984,000 won for regular workers and the overall average of 3,769,000 won. Lawmaker Kim said, "This means that the number of quality jobs has decreased accordingly."

Professor Yoon Dong-yeol of Konkuk University's Department of Business Administration emphasized, "It is urgent to establish a system where the government supports the supply of private sector jobs that meet industrial demand rather than government-led short-term direct job projects," adding, "Regulations should be eased and labor flexibility increased."

Kim Seong-won, a member of the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee from the People Power Party. (Photo by Kim Seong-won)

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