As employment increased in export-driven industries such as shipbuilding, semiconductors and food, the number of manufacturing workers enrolled in employment insurance returned to growth for the first time in 15 months. But this recovery in jobs did not extend to young people. The number of employment insurance enrollees age 29 and under fell for the 48th consecutive month.
According to "Labor market trends based on employment administrative statistics" that the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) released on the 7th, the number of regular employment insurance enrollees last month was 15,905,000, up 278,000 (1.8%) from a year earlier.
In particular, manufacturing employment rebounded. The number of manufacturing employment insurance enrollees last month was 3,847,000, up 2,000 (0.1%) from the same month a year earlier. The number of manufacturing enrollees had fallen for 14 straight months since June last year but turned to growth last month.
Shipbuilding and semiconductors, key export industries, led the rebound. The number of enrollees in other transportation equipment, which includes shipbuilding, increased by 7,600, the largest gain among manufacturing sectors. Electronics and telecommunications also rose by 4,700. Among them, semiconductor enrollees increased by 6,700. Food products and medical, precision and optical each climbed by 2,900 and 2,200, respectively.
Cho Won-sik, head of the Future Employment Analysis Division at the labor ministry, said, "Semiconductors and shipbuilding contributed greatly to the increase in manufacturing employment." The ministry analyzed that demand for semiconductor-related equipment also affected job growth in machinery and equipment and in medical, precision and optical, and that food products benefited from the expansion of K-food exports.
Meanwhile, weakness persisted in domestic demand and construction-related industries. In nonmetallic minerals, which have construction as a downstream industry, enrollees fell by 3,500, the largest decline among manufacturing sectors. Textiles also decreased by 3,200, autos by 2,300 and electrical equipment by 1,800. Construction enrollees totaled 742,000, down 7,000 from a year earlier.
The employment recovery in export-driven manufacturing did not thaw the frozen youth job market. The number of enrollees age 29 and under fell by 55,700 from the same month a year earlier, marking 48 consecutive months of decline. It has not increased year over year even once in four years.
By industry, the number of enrollees age 29 and under fell by 23,000 in manufacturing and by 13,000 each in information and communications and in health and welfare. However, the labor ministry explained that demographic changes also affected the decline in youth employment. During the same period, the population age 29 and under itself decreased by 144,000.
Unemployment benefit indicators improved somewhat. New applicants for unemployment benefits last month numbered 81,000, down 200 from the same month a year earlier, and recipients fell by 23,000 to 615,000. The amount paid also fell by 24.5 billion won (2.4%) to 1.0084 trillion won. The labor ministry analyzed that this was due to a slight improvement in employment conditions compared with last year.