According to an employment trends survey conducted by Statistics Korea, the employment index experienced some upbeat movements in August 2011. Year-over-year (YOY), the number of people employed increased by 490,000, or 2%, to 24.495 million in August. The unemployment rate stood at 3.0%, a drop of 0.3%, also from a year earlier. The number of unemployed decreased by 69,000 (8.2%) to 762,000 and the youth unemployment rate (ages 15-29) also improved, falling 0.7% to 6.3% (from 295,000 to 265,000) in August.
【Table 1】 Employment Rates to August 2011
|
August 2010
|
March 2011
|
April 2011
|
May 2011
|
June 2011
|
July 2011
|
August 2011
|
|
|
Number of Employed
(YOY change) (thousands)
|
386
|
469
|
379
|
355
|
472
|
335
|
490
|
|
Unemployment rate
(Youth unemployment rate) (%)
|
3.3
(7.0)
|
4.3
(9.5)
|
3.7
(8.7)
|
3.2
(7.3)
|
3.3
(7.6)
|
3.3
(7.6)
|
3.0
(6.3)
|
|
Number of unemployed (thousands)
|
831
|
1073
|
936
|
819
|
839
|
837
|
762
|
By industry, the numbers of employed have grown steadily in the personal and public service sectors, while 28,000 jobs were lost in the manufacturing industry, reversing a previously consistent rise. The government has said this is due to a base effect from August 2010, when the manufacturing industry hired an additional 297,000 people.
【 Table 2 】 Employment Trends by Industry
(YOY change)
|
Industry
|
June 2011
|
August 2011
|
|
Personal and Public Services
|
18,8000
|
28,9000
|
|
Manufacturing
|
4,0000
|
-2,8000
|
|
Construction
|
5,5000
|
-10,000
|
|
Retail, wholesale, food & lodging services
|
2,9000
|
8,6000
|
|
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries
|
-5,5000
|
-3,9000
|
【 Picture 1 】 Number of Employed in Manufacturing
(Units: 1000 persons, YOY)
The number of employed in the private and public sectors increased by 468,000 and 22,000 respectively. By employment status, the number of permanent workers went up by 559,000 and the percentage of permanent workers to wage workers reached 61.2%, showing an improvement in the quality of employment. The number of self-employed workers increased for the first time since April 2006, by 53,000.
【 Picture 2 】Number of Self-Employed
(Units: 1000 persons, YOY)
In August 2011, the employment rate reached 59.6%, up 0.5% from a year ago. The employment rate among those aged 15 to 64 (OECD standard) was 64.1%, up 0.7% from a year earlier and the employment rate of youth aged 15-29 stood at 41.3%, up 1.0% year-on-year.