S.Korea's employment fall hits 4-month high on COVID-19 resurgence
Source: Xinhua | 2020-10-17
South Korea's employment recorded the biggest fall in four months in September as the COVID-19 resurgence here roiled the services industry, statistical office data showed Friday.
The number of those employed was 27,012,000 in September, down 392,000 from a year ago, according to Statistics Korea. It was the fastest slide in four months since May.
The employment continued to skid for the seventh consecutive month, with declines of 195,000 in March, 476,000 in April, 392,000 in May, 352,000 in June, 277,000 in July and 274,000 in August respectively.
The COVID-19 resurged here in August and September owing to cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area traceable to church services and a massive rally in central Seoul on Aug. 15.
People refrained from outside activities, including eating out and shopping, as the government tightened its three-tier social distancing guidelines to contain the virus spread.
The government eased the guidelines to the lowest level earlier this month as the number of COVID-19 cases grew at a relatively low level in recent weeks.
The number of jobs in the eatery and lodging sector retreated 225,000 last month, with those in the wholesale and retail and the education services sectors diminishing 207,000 and 151,000 each.
Companies let employees to go on an unpaid leave or be laid off amid uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of those who took a leave of absence was 789,000 in September, up 416,000 from a year earlier.
The number of irregular workers and day laborers dipped 303,000 and 41,000 each last month, but the reading for regular workers increased 96,000.
Employment among those in their 60s or higher jumped 419,000, but the numbers for those in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s all declined amid the falling population in those age groups caused by the rapidly aging population.
Hiring rate for those aged 15 or higher fell 1.2 percentage points over the year to 60.3 percent in September. The OECD-method employment rate for those aged 15-64 slumped 1.4 percentage points to 65.7 percent.
The employment rate gauges the percentage of working people to the working-age population, or those aged 15 or above. Given the aging population, it is used as an alternative to show the labor market conditions more precisely.
The number of those unemployed totaled 1 million in September, up 116,000 from a year earlier. It marked the fastest increase in five months.
Jobless rate came in at 3.6 percent in September, up 0.5 percentage points from a year ago.
The expanded jobless rate, which reflects labor market conditions more accurately, rose 2.7 percentage points over the year to 13.5 percent in September. The figure for those aged 15-29 gained 4.3 percentage points to 25.4 percent.
The official unemployment rate refers to those who are immediately available for work but fail to get a job for the past four weeks despite efforts to actively seek a job.
The expanded jobless rate adds those who are discouraged from searching a job, those who work part-time against their will to work full-time, and those who prepare to get a job after college graduation, to the official jobless rate.
The number of economically inactive population, who had no willingness to seek a job and remained unemployed, was 16,817,000 in September, up 532,000 from a year earlier.
The so-called "take-a-rest" group, which replied that they took a rest during a job survey period, posted the highest September number at 2,413,000.
It is considered important as the group can include those who are unemployed or too discouraged to seek a job for an extended period of time.
The number of discouraged job seekers advanced 113,000 to 645,000 in the cited month.
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