Accommodation and Food Service Employment Insurance Subscribers Decline Year-on-Year for 18 Consecutive Months

Unemployment Benefit Payments Total 887.7 Billion Won... Below 1 Trillion Won for 2 Consecutive Months

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Due to the impact of COVID-19, the number of employment insurance subscribers working in the accommodation and food service industries has decreased for 18 consecutive months compared to the previous year.

According to the labor market trends announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 8th, the number of employment insurance subscribers in the accommodation and food service industries last month was 649,000, down 6,000 (0.9%) from the same month a year ago. The number of employment insurance subscribers in this sector has decreased for 18 consecutive months year-on-year since May last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decrease is the smallest since August last year (-5,000). The monthly subscriber decreases were 15,000 in July, 19,000 in August, and 12,000 in September this year. The Ministry of Employment and Labor explained, "The rate of decrease is slowing down due to vaccination, increased domestic travel, and the easing of private gathering restrictions."

The total number of employment insurance subscribers last month was 14,587,000, an increase of 356,000 (2.5%) compared to the same month last year. The Ministry of Employment and Labor reported that most industries saw an increase in subscribers due to improved domestic demand, strong exports, and non-face-to-face and digital transformation. The monthly increases in employment insurance subscribers compared to the previous year were 462,000 in June, 485,000 in July, 417,000 in August, 390,000 in September, and 356,000 last month. The Ministry explained that the slowdown in growth since August was due to a decrease in subscribers in the public administration sector, which had increased last year due to additional budget job projects, as a base effect.

By sector, manufacturing saw an increase in subscribers in most industries such as electrical equipment, electronic communications, machinery equipment, and automobiles due to improved domestic demand and strong exports. In the service sector, face-to-face services decreased, but overall subscribers increased thanks to rising non-face-to-face demand and digital transformation. By age group, subscribers increased across all age groups. Notably, the 30s age group, which had seen a decrease in subscribers until August, showed an increase for two consecutive months.

The number of job-seeking benefit (unemployment benefit) applicants was 78,000, down 10,000 (11%) from the same month last year. The number of beneficiaries of job-seeking benefits was 565,000, a decrease of 78,000 (12.2%) compared to the same month a year ago.

Last month, the amount paid for job-seeking benefits was 887.7 billion won, down 106.9 billion won (10.8%) from the same month last year. The monthly payment amount for job-seeking benefits has been below 1 trillion won for two consecutive months since September this year.

The labor market trends announced monthly by the Ministry of Employment and Labor cover regular and temporary workers among employment insurance subscribers, excluding special employment workers, freelancers, self-employed, and ultra-short-time workers.

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