An audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection on the 13th found that, over the past eight years, 1,277,000 people who received job-seeking benefits, a type of unemployment benefit, received a higher monthly amount from those benefits than their previous monthly wages. In many cases, it was more advantageous to receive job-seeking benefits than to work for a low wage. The Board of Audit and Inspection said, "Because this structure dampens the work incentives of low-wage workers and burdens the Employment Insurance Fund's finances, it is necessary to lower the minimum amount of job-seeking benefits."
That day, the Board of Audit and Inspection released "Status of fiscal management of the Employment Insurance Fund," which included these findings. The survey compared the monthly amounts received by job-seeking benefit recipients with their previous workplace wages from 2016 to 2023.
The government provides job-seeking benefits for at least 120 days and up to 270 days to Employment Insurance subscribers who have lost their jobs. The amount of job-seeking benefits is set at 60% of the average wage over the three months immediately before leaving the previous job. If this amount is lower than the minimum wage, it is raised to 80% of the minimum wage. When the minimum wage increases, the minimum amount for job-seeking benefits also goes up.
Since the Moon Jae-in administration, as the minimum wage has been raised every year, the minimum amount for job-seeking benefits increased more than 1.8 times, from 34,992 won per day in 2013 to 63,104 won per day last year. As of last year, 66% of all job-seeking benefit recipients were subject to the 63,104 won per day rate.
According to the Board of Audit and Inspection, the weekly and monthly amounts received by recipients at the minimum amount for job-seeking benefits reach 93.3% of the wages of minimum-wage workers. However, leaving a minimum-wage job to receive job-seeking benefits can increase actual income. A worker paid the minimum wage who works five days a week receives pay for six days including paid holiday allowance, but job-seeking benefits pay 80% of the minimum wage for seven days. Also, while receiving job-seeking benefits, recipients may not have to pay income tax or the four major social insurance contributions.
According to the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit, from 2016 to 2023, 1,277,000 job-seeking benefit recipients received a higher monthly amount from job-seeking benefits than the average wage they received over the prior three months at their previous workplace. The 1,277,000 in this category amount to 75% of last year's total number of job-seeking benefit recipients (1.7 million). The amount by which these recipients received more than their previous wages totaled 125.8 billion won.