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Jobless Rate at Record Levels

Posted March. 18, 2003 22:54,   

한국어

With declining economic conditions, the unemployment rate in February reached its highest since last February. Unemployment is emerging as a major factor behind the sagging economy with the youth jobless rate in particular rising sharply.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) said today the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percent to 3.7 percent in February. A total of 822,000 people remained unemployed last month, up from 789,000 in January.

The jobless rate hit its highest level since last February when the rate stood at 3.8 percent. The unemployment rate has risen for five consecutive months and the number of the unemployed also reached an all time high in one year.

The number of jobless people in their 20s (20~29) rose by 22,000 to 404,000, which is roughly half of the jobless, last month. Accordingly, the jobless rate for people in their 20s soared to a 2-year high of 8.5 percent, up 0.4 percent from last month. The rate is the same as in February 2001.

The rise is attributable to the increase in first-time job seekers and as many college graduates entered the job market following their graduation last month and seasonal factors.

The unemployment rate for teenagers reached 11.4 percent, raising the youth jobless rate. The jobless rates for other age groups also rose by 0.1 percent point each up from 2.0 to 2.8 percent. The jobless rate though for people in their 60s declined by 0.2 to 0.8 percent from January.

By education level, the jobless rate for middle school graduates and high school graduates dropped 6.7 percent points and 1.3 percent points respectively. However, the rate for college graduates rose 21.1 percent points, indicating a serious problem among the highly educated.

By industry, the declining service industry further drove up the jobless rate. Workers in the service industry decreased 64,000 from January.

“Due to the continued downturn in job-creating domestic industries such as logistics and service, the unemployment rate is likely to be on the rise,” said researcher Kim Ki-seong at LG Economic Research Institute.

In particular, capital expenditure and consumption have visibly contracted this year, forming a heavy cloud over the labor market. Capital expenditure in January dropped 7.7 percent year on year. The Consumer Evaluation Index, which shows the economic condition from the consumer perspective comparing to six months ago, plunged to a 23-month low of 73.5.

“Restructuring processes in the logistics and financial industries can drive up the jobless rate, so we need to create macro economic factors stabilized even for job security,” Kim said.



Eun-Woo Lee libra@donga.com