171,000, 166,000, 312,000…
These are the monthly numbers of employed people from July to September this year, up from the same period a year earlier. Even as the economic growth rate is expected to fall short of 1%, the number of employed has continued to increase. Since the start of the year, the number of employed has been rising by more than 100,000 each month, and last month it topped 300,000, marking the biggest increase in 19 months.
So has a warm breeze really blown through the economy? In the first quarter, Korea's real gross domestic product fell 0.2%. It rebounded with a 0.7% increase in the second quarter, but even the Ministry of Economy and Finance projected that this year's GDP growth rate will fall below 1%, signaling growth in the 0% range.
On this, Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong warned, "Korea's potential growth rate has fallen below 2%," adding, "Even a large country like the United States has a potential growth rate above 2%." Potential growth rate refers to the rate achievable when capital and labor are used to the fullest; Rhee's point is that even at its best, Korea's GDP would not grow by as much as 2%.
While economic growth is sluggish, the job market continues to sail smoothly. According to the National Data Office on the 27th, the recent increase in employment is being led by health and social welfare services.
In September, when the number of employed people increased by 312,000, health and social welfare services added 304,000. Except for January, May, and September this year, each month this industry's number of employed exceeded that of all industries combined. This means that without health and social welfare services, the number of employed would have fallen.
Even in the relatively weak months of January and May, about 90% of the year-over-year increase in total employment came from health and social welfare services. Hospitals and clinics, as well as in-home care and bathing services and other visiting welfare facilities, fall under this category.
The increase in employment in health and social welfare services was driven by non-residential welfare facility operations. While employment in the broader category of health and social welfare services is tallied monthly, subcategories such as non-residential welfare facility operations are compiled semiannually. Therefore, a more detailed look at health and social welfare services comes from the regional employment survey conducted in the second half of last year.
According to that survey, employment in health and social welfare services stood at 3,027,000, of which more than half—1,594,000—were in non-residential welfare facility operations. That was an increase of 41,000 from the previous survey in the first half (1,553,000).
The remaining items were hospitals with 678,000, clinics 449,000, residential welfare facility operations 236,000, public health services 40,000, and other health services 31,000.
Non-residential welfare facility operations refer to industries where clients receiving services do not reside at the facility. Operating childcare centers and playrooms falls into this category. In addition, visiting welfare services such as bathing for older adults with dementia and delivering side dishes or providing companionship to older adults living alone, comprehensive welfare center operations, and free meal services are also non-residential welfare facility operations.
An official at the Ministry of Economy and Finance explained, "As the number of older adults increases and interest in health grows, social demand for non-residential welfare facility operations is on the rise."
Non-residential welfare facility operations often do not require professional qualifications, so wages are very low. As of the survey period, the average wage over the past three months for workers in non-residential welfare facility operations was 1.25 million won. That falls short of last year's minimum cost of living for a single-person household (1.33 million won).
It is clearly lower than other sectors within the same broad category of health and social welfare services. The three-month average wage for hospital workers was 3.84 million won, more than three times that of non-residential welfare facility operations. Clinics (2.92 million won), public health services (2.90 million won), other health services (2.63 million won), and residential welfare facility operations (2.24 million won) all paid more than non-residential welfare facility operations.
These low-wage jobs were filled by older people. Their average age was 60.5. That is 12.6 years older than the average age of employed people across all industries (47.9).
Academia expects such jobs to increase further. Park Seung-hee, a professor of social welfare at Sungkyunkwan University, said, "People aged 60 and older do not have many job opportunities, so many take on welfare-related work," adding, "Unlike manufacturing and other sectors, there are not many good positions, but with aging, (social welfare) jobs will increase."
Chung Soon-dool, a professor of social welfare at Ewha Womans University, said, "The increase in (non-residential welfare facility operations) employment appears to be due to the expansion of older adult-to-older adult care," adding, "The pay is not high, but it is meaningful in that (older adults) contribute to society."
Some also say the strong employment numbers should not lead to complacency. Lee Jung-hee, a professor at Chung-Ang University, said, "The number of employed continues to rise, but it is an optical illusion (in which quality jobs are not increasing)," adding, "As high-tech fields, which are considered relatively good jobs, face hiring shortages, it would be desirable for the government to support skills training in line with market demand."
An official at the National Data Office said, "The number of employed is increasing and the employment rate is rising, but whether they are 'quality jobs' is another matter," adding, "We need to approach this from multiple angles."