Accommodation and Food Service Employment Insurance Subscribers Increase for the First Time in 20 Months

Increase in Transportation Industry... "Partial Recovery of Daily Life and Increased Gatherings Impact"
Job-Seeking Allowance Falls Below 1 Trillion Won for 4 Consecutive Months at 811.4 Billion Won

On the first day the quarantine pass validity period was applied, during lunchtime on the 3rd, citizens were checking the validity status of their quarantine passes at a restaurant in downtown Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of employment insurance subscribers in the accommodation and food service industry, which had been continuously decreasing compared to the previous year, turned to an increase for the first time in 20 months.

According to the labor market trends for December last year announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 10th, the number of employment insurance subscribers in the accommodation and food service industry last month was 663,000, an increase of 12,000 (1.8%) compared to the same month of the previous year. The number of employment insurance subscribers in the accommodation and food service industry recorded a negative growth compared to the same month of the previous year for 19 consecutive months from May the year before last to November last year. However, the number of employment insurance subscribers in the accommodation and food service and transportation sectors last month still falls short of the pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

The number of employment insurance subscribers in the transportation industry last month was 644,000, an increase of 8,000 (1.3%) compared to the same month of the previous year. It is the first time in 19 months that the number of employment insurance subscribers in the transportation industry has turned to an upward trend. Kim Youngjoong, Director of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, explained, "The accommodation and food service industry and transportation industry, which are representative face-to-face service sectors, showed a slight recovery due to partial daily life recovery, increased gatherings, and base effects."

The total number of employment insurance subscribers last month was 14,512,000, an increase of 432,000 (3.1%) compared to the same month of the previous year. The Ministry of Employment and Labor reported that subscribers increased in all industries except public administration due to improved domestic demand, strong exports, and non-face-to-face and digital transformation. The number of employment insurance subscribers in the public administration sector has continued to decline compared to the same month of the previous year due to the base effect of the supplementary budget job projects in 2020.

By industry, the number of employment insurance subscribers in manufacturing last month was 3,633,000, an increase of 87,000 (2.5%) compared to the same month of the previous year. The increase was centered on electronics and telecommunications, food products, and electrical equipment, and chemical products also turned to an upward trend. The number of employment insurance subscribers in the service industry, including accommodation and food service and transportation, last month was 9,979,000, an increase of 313,000 (3.2%) compared to the same month of the previous year.

The amount of job-seeking benefits (unemployment benefits) paid from the employment insurance fund to support the job search activities of the unemployed has remained below 1 trillion won for four consecutive months since September last year. The number of job-seeking benefit recipients last month was 529,000, a decrease of 71,000 (11.8%) compared to the same month of the previous year. The payment amount was 811.4 billion won, a decrease of 145.1 billion won (15.2%) compared to the same month of the previous year.

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

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