DECREASED JOBS AMID PANDEMIC

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The job market recorded more than 470,000 fewer jobs last month compared to the same period a year ago. This can be largely ascribed to the low demand in the conventional service sector. The job market has been sluggish for nearly a year now.

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Some salesclerks at airport duty-free shops lost their jobs last month. As duty-free shops were acquired by new ownership, only some 160 of more than 630 salesclerks were allowed to stay.

[Soundbite] Kim Sung-won(Labor union for duty-free shop sales workers) : "About 200 people will likely lose their jobs. The rest will either be laid off or sent on paid leaves."

Unemployment is especially serious in the conventional, face-to-face service sector.
The number of newly employed people in the wholesale/retail, dining and hospitality sectors decreased by more than 420,000 year-on-year. Some 400,000 temporary and daily workers in these sectors also lost their jobs. The number of the unemployed has
increased in all age groups except for those in their 60s and up, who had been hired by the public sector. The overall number of the employed in the country shrank by 470,000, posting a decrease for 12 consecutive months. Although more than 80,000 regular workers found jobs, concerns still remain. Those with one-year employment contracts have increased in numbers in the past two years. Measures are needed to protect short-term workers, as they can lose their jobs once their employment contracts expire.

[Soundbite] Kim Jong-jin(Korea Labour & Society Institute) : "One option would be for the government to provide further support for businesses that signed job contracts with permanent workers this year and last year The current employment subsidies could be expanded."

The government says the job market contracted less in February compared to January, and hopes it will improve in March with COVID-19 vaccinations and eased restrictions.
However, the situation remains jittery for the service sector as the number of new daily coronavirus cases remains high.