Job Polarization Created by COVID-19... Broadcasting Industry Up, Retail Industry Down

KOSPI-Listed Companies Face Greater Employment Impact Than KOSDAQ-Listed Companies

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jin-ho] An analysis has revealed that job polarization by industry deepened over the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, KOSPI-listed companies suffered greater employment damage compared to KOSDAQ-listed companies.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) announced on the 21st that it reached this conclusion after investigating the number of employees at KOSPI and KOSDAQ-listed companies from 2019 to the third quarter of 2021.

According to the FKI, the relatively larger-sized companies in the KOSPI market experienced greater employment damage than those in the KOSDAQ market. The number of employees at KOSPI-listed companies was 1,057,000 as of the third quarter of 2021, which is 5,000 fewer than the 1,062,000 recorded in the third quarter of 2019, before the outbreak of COVID-19.

On the other hand, the number of employees at KOSDAQ-listed companies increased by 4,000, from 245,000 in the third quarter of 2019 to 249,000 in the third quarter of 2021.

The FKI analyzed, "While KOSPI-listed companies, which are heavily concentrated in traditional manufacturing and wholesale and retail industries, were somewhat impacted by the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, KOSDAQ-listed companies, which include many new industry and new technology sectors such as software development and supply, electronic components, and pharmaceutical manufacturing, appear to have benefited relatively from the acceleration of the Fourth Industrial Revolution due to COVID-19."

In fact, looking at the top industries with employee growth among listed companies over the past two years (2019?2021) as of the third quarter, the telecommunications and broadcasting equipment manufacturing industry ranked first with an increase of 8,174 employees.

Following were software development and supply (2,457 employees), primary battery and accumulator manufacturing (2,367 employees), and semiconductor manufacturing (1,513 employees).

The FKI analyzed that amid the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution, the surge in demand for non-face-to-face industries and accelerated digital transformation due to the spread of COVID-19 led to significant job growth in telecommunications and broadcasting equipment, battery and semiconductor manufacturing, and software development and supply industries.

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