STRUGGLES IN JOB MARKET

[Anchor Lead]

The job market is recovering after a long period of stagnation. However things are still tough in the in-person service sector. Young people are still struggling to land decent jobs.

[Pkg]

It's a high-demand season in the movie sector, but theaters are deserted. As of April, the number of moviegoers plummeted more than 60 percent on-year as a result of the pandemic.

[Soundbite] Yoon Soo-ji(Moviegoer) : "I came to see a movie for the first time in two years because I've been worried about the coronavirus. Before, I had to wait to get seated, but this time there are many empty seats."

Finding jobs in the in-person service sector is a challenge due to prolonged restrictions. Last month the number of newly employed increased by 620,000 on-year. However, leisure-related service sectors recorded a decrease of about 40,000 jobs. The wholesale and retail sectors also lost more than 130,000 jobs. This is mainly due to people spending more time at home and using online services due to the pandemic.

[Soundbite] Sung Tae-yoon(Prof., Yonsei University) : "Even if the virus is contained, the loss of human resources due to digital transformation will continue to hamper recovery in the job market."

While employment figures among young job seekers improved, finding a decent job is still challenging. The number of newly employed young people has been on the rise for three straight months, but 70 percent of them are temporary workers. About 60 percent of conglomerates have no plans to hire this year. Finding stable jobs for young people remains a challenge.

[Soundbite] Moon Yoon-hee(Job seeker) : "Even when there are job openings, you never know how many people they are hiring, and sometimes they postpone or even cancel new hirings."

The government plans to include, in its economic policies for the second half of the year, measures designed to help the socially vulnerable find jobs.