Unemployment Question

[Anchor Lead]

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits in Korea in January recorded an all-time high. Some analysis shows that there have been fewer jobs since the government raised the minimum wage. However, the government has rebuked such criticism by saying it's too early to say that higher minimum wages have led to higher unemployment rates.

[Pkg]

The number of new applicants for unemployment benefits soared last month. According to a report on labor market trends in January 2018 released by the Ministry of Labor, 152,000 new applications for unemployment benefits were received last month, up 32 percent from the same period a year ago. The number of unemployed surged 19 percent, while the job growth rate recorded a mere 14 percent. The number of new applications for unemployment benefits and their rate of increase in the month of January were the highest since the relevant data was first compiled in 2013. The Ministry of Labor says that unlike in January 2017, which included the Lunar New Year holiday period, this year there were more days to apply for unemployment benefits. The ministry also attributed the increase to stagnation in the construction, shipbuilding and automobile sectors. However, it added that it's too early to say that this is an implication of the effects of higher minimum wages. In the shipbuilding sector, which is undergoing restructuring, the number of new jobs decreased 24 percent from the same period last year, hovering above the 20-percent mark for ten consecutive months. The manufacturing sector also recorded 3,000 fewer jobs compared with 2017. The total number of new jobs in January this year rose 2 percent year-on-year to reach 12,808,000.