"Significant Deterioration in Employment Quality of Vulnerable Workers After COVID-19... Intensification of Polarization"

Support Needed for Job Changes and Career-Interrupted Women Among Workers with Insufficient Working Hours

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Since COVID-19, the quality of employment for 'vulnerable workers' has significantly deteriorated, exacerbating employment polarization. This is attributed to the proportion of workers with insufficient working hours due to involuntary reasons greatly exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

According to the "Assessment of Employment Quality in Korea" report released by the Bank of Korea on the 20th, the recent speed of employment recovery has been slower relative to the quantity of employment and has not reached the level before the infectious disease outbreak (January 2020).

The Bank of Korea calculated an employment quality index using three factors from January 2015 to April 2022: stability of employment status, working hours, and actual risk in the sector to which the worker belongs (industry, size of employer, occupation). Workers were defined as vulnerable if they were assessed as vulnerable in two or more of these three evaluation items. Among them, those vulnerable in two items were classified as 'somewhat vulnerable group,' and those vulnerable in all three items were classified as 'highly vulnerable group.'

Accordingly, the recent quality of employment shows a recovery trend, which is positive, but the recovery speed is somewhat slower compared to the quantity of employment.

Song Sang-yoon, head of the Employment Analysis Team at the Bank of Korea's Research Department, explained, "The proportion of workers with insufficient working hours (less than 36 hours per week) due to involuntary reasons such as lack of work, business downturn, and suspension of operations exceeded the level before the infectious disease outbreak. The reduction in working hours appeared mainly among workers with unstable employment and high risk of job loss, resulting in a higher proportion of the 'highly vulnerable group' compared to pre-pandemic levels."

In particular, this survey showed that not only the highly vulnerable group but also the proportion of workers with very good employment quality increased, indicating that the polarization of employment quality distribution has intensified.

Looking at employment quality levels by gender and age group, the quality of employment for core working-age groups aged 40 and above and elderly women was lower than that of men in the same age group. Regarding the speed of employment quality recovery, young women showed the slowest recovery. For them, in addition to involuntary insufficient working hours, the proportion of workers with unstable employment also exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

Song emphasized, "There is a growing recognition that improving employment quality is essential for sustainable growth. To enhance employment quality, policy efforts such as strengthening vocational education and employment services are needed to facilitate smooth job transitions for workers who find it difficult to normalize working hours."

He added, "Especially among women aged 40 and above, the high proportion of vulnerable workers seems to be influenced by their reemployment in low-quality jobs after experiencing career interruptions due to childcare. It is necessary to expand job sharing and institutionalize telecommuting, focusing on women workers with childcare responsibilities, to encourage them to work long-term in their current jobs without career breaks."

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