简体中文
VCG
South Korea's job loss hit the worst in over 21 years in April as companies led employees to go on unpaid leave or be laid off amid the COVID-19 outbreak, statistical office data showed Wednesday.
The number of those employed totaled about 26.6 million in April, down 476,000 from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It was the biggest reduction in more than 21 years since February 1999.
The employment declined 195,000 in March from a year earlier, marking the first fall in over 10 years since January 2010.
Amid fears surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, people refrained from outdoor activities, such as shopping, traveling and eating out, hitting services industry the hardest.
The number of jobs in the eatery and lodging sectors tumbled 212,000 in April from a year earlier, and the reading for the education services sector contracted 130,000 last month.
The fallout extended beyond the services industry. The number of employees in the manufacturing sector declined 44,000 in April from a year ago, and the figure in the construction industry diminished 59,000.
Non-regular workers suffered the most. The number of irregular workers nosedived 587,000 in April, recording the biggest decline since relevant data began to be compiled in January 1990.
The number of day laborers retreated 195,000 last month, but regular workers increased 400,000.
The number of those who took a leave of absence was about 1.5 million in April, up about 1.1 million from a year ago. The figure is included in the number of those employed.
The hiring rate for those aged 15 or higher dipped 1.4 percentage points over the year to 59.4 percent in April, the lowest in 10 years since April 2010.
The OECD-method employment rate for those aged between 15 and 64 years slipped 1.4 percentage points to 65.1 percent last month.
The employment rate gauges the percentage of working people to the working-age population, or those aged 15 years 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 was about 1.2 million in April, down 73,000 from a year earlier. Unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 4.2 percent last month.
The jobless rate fell as the COVID-19 outbreak delayed recruiting schedules, reducing the number of job-seekers.
The expanded jobless rate, which reflects labor market conditions more accurately, increased 2.5 percentage points from a year earlier to 14.9 percent in April.
The expanded unemployment rate for those aged between 15 and 29 years went up 1.4 percentage points to 26.6 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 about 17 million in April, up 831,000 from a year earlier.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency
