(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on March 23)

Awful job losses

When a business boom starts to cool off, those on the payrolls are concerned about
their job security and those graduating from school wonder whether they will get the
kind of job they desire. Jobs will not be easily available when a recession starts.

As the Korean economy slides into recession, jobs are disappearing at an unthinkable
pace. The number of jobs lost in recent months is nothing short of frightening. In
February alone, 142,000 jobs were wiped out from a year ago, the highest in five
years and five months.

It appeared that job losses were being curbed in December when they were limited to
12,000. But that number shot up to 103,000 the next month.

Should this trend continue in the job market, it will be only a matter of time
before the number of the jobless swells from the current 924,000 to 1 million. Some
private think tanks already predict that half a million jobs will disappear by the
end of the first half.

No less shocking is the rapid rise in the economically inactive population. Last
month, this population increased by half a million. It is evidence that a growing
number of people are giving up the idea of seeking work. By doing so, they are
counting themselves out of the official statistics on unemployment.

Hardest hit are those in those aged 20 to 29, many of whom are fresh out of school.
Job losses among that age group numbered 171,000 last month, followed by 167,000
among those aged 30 to 39.

Jobs are being wiped out at a time when the nation desperately needs to create jobs.
It needs 300,000 to 400,000 additional jobs each year if it is to adequately address
the issue of employment.

It is urgent for the government to put to use every means available for job
protection and creation. First of all, it will have to focus on employment when it
submits a supplementary budget bill to the National Assembly next month.

The extra budget bill, reportedly scaled at 30 trillion won, will have to be
designed in a way that will encourage small and medium-sized enterprises not to lay
off their employees on the one hand. On the other, it will have to create new jobs
on its own by launching big-ticket public works projects and spending more on
welfare programs.

The sense of urgency over unemployment must be shared by the political community. A
prolonged process of deliberation or a squabble between rival political parties will
be of little help in dealing with the fast-worsening employment problem. Individual
lawmakers and their parties will have to help the administration execute its
employment programs immediately.

It is not the administration alone that must strive to keep the jobless rate from
rising. As the spring season for collective bargaining is approaching, labor unions
will have much work to do in promoting job security for their members.

During the past business downturns, few unions have offered pay cuts in exchange for
job protection. Such a concession has been simply unthinkable for many of them. A
pay freeze has been the limit in many cases.

But the situation is different this time, with a cut in corporate turnover by half
not being uncommon. Unions will do well not to rule out the possibility of conceding
to demands from their employers for a deep cut in workers' compensation.

Corporations cannot keep hemorrhaging money for an indefinite period of time. If the
global economic crisis is protracted, it will be a matter of survival for them to
reduce their losses with the help of unions. They will have to take action as soon
as possible if they wish to enhance their chances of survival.
(END)