The Employment Market Changed by Corona... Proportion of Office Workers Down, Delivery Workers Up

원본보기 아이콘

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seonhee] As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued for over two years, rapid changes are occurring in the employment market. With the increasing demand for non-face-to-face services, the number of office workers and store sales employees is steadily decreasing, while the number of care and health service workers and delivery personnel is gradually increasing.

According to the "2021 Second Half Regional Employment Survey: Characteristics of Employed Persons by Industry and Occupation" recently released by Statistics Korea on the 23rd, the total number of employed persons in the second half of last year was 27,740,000, an increase of 652,000 compared to the same period a year earlier. The overall employment recovery trend continues.

Looking at the increase and decrease in employment by specific occupational classification, the occupation with the largest increase in employment in the second half of last year was cooks, with an increase of 77,000. This was followed by care and health service workers (67,000), management-related clerks (47,000), and automobile drivers (43,000).

In particular, over the past two years, the number of delivery personnel has steadily increased, reaching 410,000 employed persons for the first time in the second half of last year, entering the 400,000 range. This number exceeds that of school teachers (389,000). This is interpreted as a result of increased demand for non-face-to-face services and a decrease in the number of students due to the continuing low birthrate.

Examining the trend since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, occupations such as management-related clerks and store sales employees have been steadily decreasing. By industry, the proportion of employed persons in the restaurant sector has significantly decreased, while employment in non-residential welfare facility operations has been on the rise.

However, due to the very poor employment market when the COVID-19 pandemic first broke out in 2020, the number of employed persons in the restaurant sector increased by 19,000 in the second half of last year compared to the previous year.

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.