ID :
46019
Tue, 02/17/2009 - 09:06
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/46019
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Record number of people opt not to work amid slump
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- A record number of working-age South Koreans "simply"
gave up looking for work amid a severe economic slump in January, data showed
Tuesday, pointing to the nation's worsening job market conditions.
A total of 1.77 million people opted to "take a break" from employment without
specific reasons last month, the highest level since January 2003 when related
figures started to be compiled, according to the data by the National Statistical
Office.
The number, which stood at 850,000 in 2003, rose to 1.2 million the following
year and has increased ever since. At the end of last year, the figure stood at
1.61 million.
Those who sought employment in the past year but gave up for such reasons as
household duties, school, old age and health problems also jumped to 165,000 last
month, the highest since April 2000, the data showed.
South Korea's jobless rate does not take into account the growing number of
people referred to in the data, though experts argue they are a significant part
of South Korea's unemployed and that the recent rise in their numbers is yet
further evidence of the nation's toughening labor conditions.
Last month, the jobless rate stood at 3.6 percent, with over 100,000 jobs
disappearing from the year before. The government predicts around 200,000 more
jobs will evaporate this year as the economy is expected to post minus growth of
2 percent, the first recession in more than a decade.
The government recently unveiled a set of diverse measures, including a job
sharing program aimed at encouraging companies to keep their workers by cutting
salaries.
In January, the finance ministry announced what it calls its "green new deal,"
under which the government aims to generate nearly 1 million jobs by investing 50
trillion won in eco-friendly business projects.
Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun, who took office last week, said that his top
priority is to create jobs and that he will push for an extra budget aimed at
bolstering domestic demand and resuscitating the slumping economy.
Despite government efforts, however, observers say that employment conditions may
in fact worsen in the months to come as hundreds of thousands of new high school
and college graduates are expected to enter the already-tightening job market.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)
gave up looking for work amid a severe economic slump in January, data showed
Tuesday, pointing to the nation's worsening job market conditions.
A total of 1.77 million people opted to "take a break" from employment without
specific reasons last month, the highest level since January 2003 when related
figures started to be compiled, according to the data by the National Statistical
Office.
The number, which stood at 850,000 in 2003, rose to 1.2 million the following
year and has increased ever since. At the end of last year, the figure stood at
1.61 million.
Those who sought employment in the past year but gave up for such reasons as
household duties, school, old age and health problems also jumped to 165,000 last
month, the highest since April 2000, the data showed.
South Korea's jobless rate does not take into account the growing number of
people referred to in the data, though experts argue they are a significant part
of South Korea's unemployed and that the recent rise in their numbers is yet
further evidence of the nation's toughening labor conditions.
Last month, the jobless rate stood at 3.6 percent, with over 100,000 jobs
disappearing from the year before. The government predicts around 200,000 more
jobs will evaporate this year as the economy is expected to post minus growth of
2 percent, the first recession in more than a decade.
The government recently unveiled a set of diverse measures, including a job
sharing program aimed at encouraging companies to keep their workers by cutting
salaries.
In January, the finance ministry announced what it calls its "green new deal,"
under which the government aims to generate nearly 1 million jobs by investing 50
trillion won in eco-friendly business projects.
Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun, who took office last week, said that his top
priority is to create jobs and that he will push for an extra budget aimed at
bolstering domestic demand and resuscitating the slumping economy.
Despite government efforts, however, observers say that employment conditions may
in fact worsen in the months to come as hundreds of thousands of new high school
and college graduates are expected to enter the already-tightening job market.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)
