Stricter social distancing could put 35% of jobs at risk: BOK
- 4 years ago
한은 "코로나19 확산에 따른 강력 봉쇄조치시 취업자 35% 실직 위기"
With the government tightening social distancing rules, there are rising concerns about South Korea's job crisis.
A report by the Bank of Korea says one in three workers in the country could face unemployment if tighter social distancing measures are imposed.
Eum Ji-young reports.
This teacher at a private educational institute had a class to teach on Wednesday, but because of social distancing, it was canceled.
"The employment situation in the sector is not good. Most of the instructors at private educational institutes are freelancers and are going through hard times financially."
South Korea's job market has been hammered by the outbreak,… seeing an average of 350-thousand jobs lost from March to June this year.
According to the Bank of Korea's latest report on employment vulnerability, one in three of around 27 million jobs in South Korea could be at risk if social distancing is made more strict.
The report says the jobs most at risk are those deemed non-essential, which accounts for 42 percent of the total.
Around 74 percent of jobs cannot be done remotely, which makes them highly vulnerable too.
Also at risk are jobs that require lots of physical interaction. They account for 55 percent of all jobs.
"Since February, roughly one million jobs have been wiped out. Most of them were jobs deemed not essential, that require lots of physical contact or that cannot be done at home."
An estimated 35 percent of the entire workforce holds non-essential positions that cannot be done at home such as working in restaurants. If restrictions are tightened, it's likely they would quickly be laid off.
"With consumers refraining from dining out because of the virus, the restaurant sector in South Korea has been hit hard and has seen huge job losses."
"Sales decreased 50 percent on year, and accordingly, we had to reduce the number of workers from four to two to minimize expenses. The shop next door has also reduced its number of employees from 15 to 7."
He added that stricter social distancing could cause things to get worse.
Eum Ji-young Arirang News.
With the government tightening social distancing rules, there are rising concerns about South Korea's job crisis.
A report by the Bank of Korea says one in three workers in the country could face unemployment if tighter social distancing measures are imposed.
Eum Ji-young reports.
This teacher at a private educational institute had a class to teach on Wednesday, but because of social distancing, it was canceled.
"The employment situation in the sector is not good. Most of the instructors at private educational institutes are freelancers and are going through hard times financially."
South Korea's job market has been hammered by the outbreak,… seeing an average of 350-thousand jobs lost from March to June this year.
According to the Bank of Korea's latest report on employment vulnerability, one in three of around 27 million jobs in South Korea could be at risk if social distancing is made more strict.
The report says the jobs most at risk are those deemed non-essential, which accounts for 42 percent of the total.
Around 74 percent of jobs cannot be done remotely, which makes them highly vulnerable too.
Also at risk are jobs that require lots of physical interaction. They account for 55 percent of all jobs.
"Since February, roughly one million jobs have been wiped out. Most of them were jobs deemed not essential, that require lots of physical contact or that cannot be done at home."
An estimated 35 percent of the entire workforce holds non-essential positions that cannot be done at home such as working in restaurants. If restrictions are tightened, it's likely they would quickly be laid off.
"With consumers refraining from dining out because of the virus, the restaurant sector in South Korea has been hit hard and has seen huge job losses."
"Sales decreased 50 percent on year, and accordingly, we had to reduce the number of workers from four to two to minimize expenses. The shop next door has also reduced its number of employees from 15 to 7."
He added that stricter social distancing could cause things to get worse.
Eum Ji-young Arirang News.