Employment Insurance Subscribers Increased by 370,000... But One-Third Are 'Foreigners'

Job seekers participating in the '2023 Mid-sized Companies Job Fair' held on the 3rd at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are looking at the recruitment bulletin board. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Last month, the number of employment insurance subscribers increased by more than 370,000, indicating a continuing upward trend. However, since one out of every three subscribers is a foreign worker, domestic employment is effectively stagnating.

According to the labor market trends announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 10th, as of the end of last month, the number of regular employment insurance subscribers was 15,183,000, an increase of 374,000 (2.5%) compared to the same month last year. This marks two consecutive months of growth following 366,000 in May.

Among the 374,000 new subscribers, about one-third, or 127,000, are foreigners.

Excluding foreign workers who are mandatorily covered by employment insurance, the increase was 271,000 in March, 243,000 in April, 247,000 in May, and 248,000 in June, remaining at a similar level for three months.

The enrollment of foreign workers under the Employment Permit System (E9, H2 visa) in employment insurance has been gradually mandated since January 2021. The impact of the expanded mandatory employment insurance coverage was particularly significant in the manufacturing industry, where 90% of foreign workers are employed.

Last month, the number of employment insurance subscribers in the manufacturing sector increased by 116,000, of which 110,000 were foreign workers and only 6,000 were domestic workers.

Looking at the total employment insurance subscribers by age group, those aged 29 and under decreased by 24,000 compared to the same month last year, totaling 2,481,000, marking a decline for ten consecutive months. Youth employment remains unfavorable.

On the other hand, subscribers in other age groups increased. The growth was largest among those aged 60 and over (222,000), followed by those in their 50s (97,000), 30s (69,000), and 40s (10,000), with the elderly showing particularly significant growth.

The number of unemployment benefit (job-seeking allowance) applicants, paid from the employment insurance fund to support job-seeking activities of the unemployed, was 87,000, an increase of 2,000 (2.9%) compared to the same month last year. The amount paid in job-seeking benefits was 1.0245 trillion won, up by 68.8 billion won (7.2%).

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