The increase in employment in March was only 173,000… Minimum width in 37 months

Due to bad weather, employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing decreased significantly… Base effect influence
The largest decrease in youth employment in 8 months… Youth employment rate also declines
Government: “The job market is expected to show good trends due to the economic recovery”

Last month, the increase in the number of employed people shrank to the lowest level in three years due to the base effect and bad weather.

The number of employed youth decreased by the largest amount in eight months, and the youth employment rate also turned negative for the first time in six months.

On the other hand, employment in the manufacturing industry continued to increase for four months due to the boom in semiconductor production, and employment in the lodging and restaurant industry also increased for the first time in three months as the number of tourists visiting Korea increased.

The government cited sluggish domestic demand and construction orders as risk factors, but predicted that the job market would continue to trend well, reflecting the export-centered economic recovery.

◇ Average monthly employment in the first quarter increased to 294,000… Last year’s 4th quarter level

According to the ‘March Employment Trends’ announced by Statistics Korea on the 12th, the number of employed people aged 15 or older last month was 28.396 million, an increase of 173,000 from a year ago.

This is the lowest level in three years and one month since the number decreased by 473,000 in February 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate of increase in employed people peaked at 1.135 million in January 2022, then slowed and has remained in the 200,000-300,000 range since the second half of last year.

Seo Un-joo, director of the Social Statistics Department at the National Statistical Office, said, “The slowdown in employment growth in March is due to the base effect due to the large increase in the number of employed in March last year,” and added, “The decline in employment in agriculture, forestry and fisheries was also significant in the aftermath of the drop in temperature.”

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance explained that the average monthly increase in employment in the first quarter of this year was 294,000, which is similar to the fourth quarter of last year (303,000).

◇ There is a significant decline in youth employment in health, welfare, and education services.

By age, the number of employed people among young people (ages 15 to 29) decreased by 131,000, which was the largest decrease. It decreased the most since July of last year (-138,000 people). The decline was mainly found in industries such as health and welfare, education services, and wholesale and retail.

As the number of employed youth decreased significantly, the youth employment rate also decreased by 0.3 percentage points (p) from a year ago to 45.9%, turning into a downward trend for the first time in six months. However, the youth unemployment rate fell by 0.6 percentage points to 6.5%, the lowest on record as of March.

Director Seo Un-ju said, “The employment age is moving from the 20s to the 30s due to the recent trend of preferring hiring with experience,” and added, “The employment rate among young people itself is very high.”

The number of employed people in their 40s also decreased by 79,000 due to the slump in the wholesale, retail and construction industries.

On the other hand, the number of employed people over the age of 60 increased by 233,000, driving the increase, and those in their 30s and 50s also increased by 91,000 and 59,000, respectively.

◇ Wholesale and retail employment declines for the first time in half a year

By industry, the number of employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing decreased by 50,000, the largest decrease since March 2017 (-56,000). The wholesale and retail industry decreased by 14,000 people, recording a decline again for the first time in six months since last September (-17,000 people).

The number of employed people in the education service industry also decreased by 33,000, continuing the decline for six months. This is due to a decrease in the number of quarantine personnel at educational sites.

The number of employed people in manufacturing increased by 49,000. It has been an increase for 4 months since December of last year. Employment in the lodging and restaurant industry, which had decreased due to sluggish domestic demand, increased by 7,000 due to the increase in tourists visiting Korea, increasing again for the first time in three months.

By occupational status, the number of full-time workers increased by 286,000. This is the smallest increase since March 2021 (208,000 people). However, the proportion of full-time workers was 57.6%, the highest level ever as of March. The number of temporary workers increased by 97,000, and the number of daily workers decreased by 168,000.

The number of self-employed people with employees increased by 1,000, while the number of self-employed people without employees and unpaid family workers decreased by 35,000 and 7,000, respectively.

◇ Government “Slow domestic demand and construction orders are downside factors… We will create quality jobs”

The employment rate for those aged 15 and older was 62.4%, up 0.2 percentage points from a year ago. It is the highest as of March since monthly statistics were compiled in July 1982.

The employment rate for those aged 15 to 64, which is the standard for comparison by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), was 69.1%, the highest as of March since related statistics were compiled in 1989.

The number of unemployed people was 892,000, an increase of 52,000 from a year ago. Unemployment has been increasing for five months since November of last year. The unemployment rate was 3.0%, up 0.1 percentage points from a year ago.

Last month, the economically inactive population was counted at 16.242 million. This is the result of a decrease of 63,000 people due to decreases in child care (-110,000 people) and attendance at school/courses (-55,000 people).

Among them, the number of ‘rested’ people increased by 30,000 to 2.446 million. The number of people who gave up looking for work increased by 52,000 to 391,000.

The government predicted that the employment situation would continue to remain favorable as the economic recovery continued, centered on exports.

However, it is expected that the increase in employed people, which has increased significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, will gradually return to a long-term trend and show a slowdown compared to last year. The average monthly increase in employment predicted by the government this year is 230,000.

The delayed recovery of domestic demand and sluggish construction orders were cited as downside factors limiting the robust employment trend.

Cho Seong-joong, head of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance’s Human Resources Policy Department, said, “We will strengthen efforts to create quality jobs centered on the private sector by recovering exports and domestic demand and improving economic dynamism.”

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