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Lowest wage directives in NovemberThe number of manufacturing jobs has decreased by 90,000.

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Last month, the number of employed people rose 165,000 from a year earlier, the biggest increase in 10 months. However, the number of employed workers in manufacturing dropped 91,000 due to the short-term abolition of companies directly hit by the drastic increase in minimum wage, relocating them to foreign countries, and restructuring. It has been on the decline for eight consecutive months. The number of jobs in small businesses, which are sensitive to the minimum wage increase, was also reduced.스포츠토토

"The number of employed people in November reached 27.184,000 and 165,000 more than last year," the National Statistical Office said on Wednesday. The number of employed people in November is a surprise given the amount of increase. This is because the market's expectations on the employment situation have been too low. For the fourth consecutive month, the number of employed fell below 100,000. The number of employed people, which averaged 316,000 a month last year, plummeted to 5,000 in July and 3,000 in August, and failed to recover 100,000 in September and October, respectively in October.

The reason why the number of employed people recovered to 100,000 in just five months in November is that the number of jobs in the public service sector has increased significantly. On top of this, the decline in the number of employed people in wholesale and retail and lodging restaurants, which had been deteriorating due to the rapid increase in minimum wage, also affected the impact. Wholesale and retail trade shrank by 100,000 in October, but fell by 69,000 in November. The number of lodging and restaurants also declined from 97,000 to 59,000. The decline in wholesale and retail sales and lodging businesses has affected the overall improvement in the number of employed, although the facility management industry, another sensitive business, has worsened from 89,000 to 91,000. The National Statistical Office (NSO) believes that the number of people employed in related industries has increased due to the increase of Chinese tourists. The increase in the number of employed people in the health and social welfare service sector, which is heavily subsidized by the government, was 159,000 in October and 164,000 in November. The number of public administration workers has also increased by 32,000. 

"As the increase in the health and social welfare service industry has been maintained and the reduction in the number of lodging and food industries has slowed, the employment index has improved a bit," said Bin Hyun-joon, head of the employment statistics department at the National Statistical Office. "In the past, jobs for public workers could be identified under the category of public administration and social security administration, but these industries are scattered now, and there are limitations in identifying the effects of the measures as they are implemented by local governments," the government said on the effects of short-term employment (customized jobs) measures announced in October.

The government is taking a cautious stance on the sustainability of the November employment index. With corporate investment and private consumer sentiment at a time when there is a slowdown, there is a high chance that the economy will end up being just a one-off unless the economic vitality through investment flows. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Hong Nam-ki attended the Economic and Vitalization Meeting and said, "It is fortunate that the employment index in November has improved," but also mentioned structural changes in the Korean economy. "It is true that the overall (employment index) looks better than in the past, but it is difficult to predict whether it will continue or not," said Bin.

Experts are more cautious in thinking. On the contrary, next year's index, which calls for an additional 10.9 percent increase in minimum wage and the introduction of a 52-hour week, will be even worse. This is because large-scale restructuring and closing of small and medium-sized businesses, which lack sufficient funds, can be realized. In fact, 219,000 jobs were lost in November alone in the lowest-wage sensitive industries (retail, lodging restaurants, and facilities management). 

Another concern is that the number of manufacturing jobs fell for the eighth straight month and fell to 91,000 in November. "In principle, stable jobs should be done by the manufacturing industry, but the situation is not stable as exports as well as domestic consumption are slowing down," said Kim Tae-ki, an economics professor at Dankook University. The unemployment rate is also the highest since 1999 when the foreign exchange crisis hit. The unemployment rate hit a record high of 3.2 percent in 2009 after the financial crisis (3.3 percent). The youth unemployment rate stood at 21.6 percent, the worst since the statistics began to be compiled in 2015. 

In particular, the construction industry is seen as a "brainer" that could lead to job chaos next year. This is because the impact of this year`s slowdown on the construction industry could spread to the job market next year. "In the first half of next year, the employment index could deteriorate beyond our imagination," said Joo Won, an economist at Hyundai Economic Research Institute. In November, the number of construction workers stood at 2.12 million, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the 27.18 million.

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