The number of employment insurance subscribers, which acts as a barometer of the labor market situation, increased by 1.2% in May compared to the same month last year. Although the increase has somewhat recovered this year, conditions remain poor in the manufacturing and construction sectors and among people in their 20s and 40s. Particularly, the job vacancy multiplier indicating the number of job openings per job seeker through 'Job 24' recorded the lowest level since the 1998 International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial crisis.
According to the 'Labor Market Trends from Employment Administration Statistics for May' released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 9th, the number of regular employment insurance subscribers as of the end of last month was 15.58 million, an increase of 187,000 (1.2%) from a year ago. The growth rate, which had been slowing down from November last year to January this year, has shown signs of recovery since February.
However, this recovery trend showed significant variations by industry. The service industry, centered on health and welfare and accommodation and food services (10.829 million), increased by 203,000 from the previous year, while the construction sector (754,000) decreased by 19,000. The manufacturing sector (3.85 million) saw a slight increase, driven by an increase in foreign employment insurance subscriptions due to the employment permit system. Excluding the increase from foreigners, the number of manufacturing employment insurance subscribers decreased by 16,000.
There are also significant differences by age group. The number of employment insurance subscribers increased among those in their 30s, 50s, and those over 60, but it decreased by 93,000 and 37,000 among those under 29 and in their 40s, respectively. The decline in subscribers under 20 has continued for 35 months, while the decrease in the 40s has lasted for 21 months. The largest drops in those under 20 occurred in the information and communication, retail, manufacturing, and professional scientific and technical fields, while the 40s saw reductions in construction, retail, and manufacturing.
The number of new applications for jobseeker benefits for unemployed individuals engaging in job search was 85,000. This represents a decrease of 3,000 (3.1%) from a year ago. However, the total number of recipients (670,000) and the amount paid (1.1108 trillion won) increased, attributed to an increase in existing payments due to an expanded range of employment insurance coverage.
In May, the number of new job openings through Job 24 (the number of people companies wish to hire, 141,000) plummeted by 46,000 (24.8%) compared to the previous year, while new job seekers (the number of people seeking jobs, 376,000) increased by 10,000 (2.6%). The job vacancy multiplier, which indicates the number of jobs per job seeker, was 0.37, marking the lowest level since May 1998 (0.32).
However, this statistic only reflects the job opening and job seeking situation through Job 24, which may differ somewhat from the overall job opening and job seeking situation in the labor market.
Cheon Kyung-gi, head of the future employment analysis department at the Ministry of Employment, noted, “Due to the deterioration of industrial and trade environments, difficulties in the manufacturing sector persist, and considering construction orders and construction activity, the construction sector is also expected to continue facing challenges.” He added, “Considering various research institutions' predictions, this recovery trend in the labor market is expected to continue until June, but it may become tougher from the second half of the year.”