Economic slump causes sharp drop in temporary, daily workers: report

SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's current economic slump has driven the
number of temporary and daily workers down below the 7-million mark for the first
time in over four years, a government report said Monday.

The report by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the National Statistical
Office (NSO) said there were 6.95 million workers whose employment contracts did
not exceed one year as of January, the lowest since 6.88 million tallied in
August 2004.
Compared to January 2008, there were 267,000 fewer temporary and daily workers as
companies took steps to lay off employees amid a sharp decline in domestic
consumption, exports and business investment.
Temporary workers are employees holding jobs that last for more than one month
but under a year, while daily workers are employed for less than one month.
The two groups make up roughly 30 percent of the 22.86 million individuals
employed in the cited month.
The ministry and the NSO warned that more jobs could be shed in the coming months
since the economy is forecast to contract by 2 percent annually in 2009.
Last year, the total number of temporary and daily workers hit bottom at 7
million in August before climbing back up to 7.27 million in November. The
economic slowdown triggered by the worldwide financial crisis, however, caused
the total to fall back to 7.12 million by December.
In January, Seoul said that a total of 103,000 jobs were lost in 2008, with
experts predicting up to 200,000 jobs may evaporate by the end of this year.
Government sources added that there could be a large number of layoffs in July
when companies must decide whether to fire or hold onto contract employees hired
in 2007.
Under South Korea's labor law, companies can freely dismiss contract workers who
have been employed for less than two years, after which period they automatically
receive enhanced employment protection. There are an estimated 970,000 workers
whose two-year hiring period comes due in July.
"Seoul is taking all necessary steps to encourage companies not to fire workers
and to create jobs, although things may not start to look up until after the
second or third quarter," said a ministry official.
He said that as part of the government's efforts to boost employment, 100
state-run companies are moving to slash wages for new employees by up to 30
percent this year so as to allow the hiring of 11,000 interns as part of a "job
sharing" program.
Companies like Incheon International Airport Corp., Korea Export Insurance Corp.,
Korea Electrical safety Corp. and Korea Housing Finance Corp. have said they plan
to cut wages.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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