JOBS  KOREA  GENERATION Y

Korea - The number of workers in their twenties and thirties in Korea have fallen, due to reluctance in hiring from companies amid the downturn.

According to the National Statistical Office and the Bank of Korea (BOK), the number of people on payrolls from these age groups averaged 9.62 million from January to May this year, down 322,000 from the previous year. The decline is the steepest since 1999, when 418,800 positions were eliminated during the same five-month period due to the Asian financial crisis.

"The sharp decline is attributable to the fact that worsening business conditions caused companies to refrain from additional recruitment, while workers with short-term contracts lost their jobs," says a BOK official.

The Korean government has also stepped up spending in order to create jobs, with its 28.4 trillion won (S$32.1 million) extra budget passed in April. However, there are few signs that the labour market will thaw soon. In May, the jobless rate in Korea was at 3.8%, similar from a month earlier even though job losses stood at 219,000 positions.

Last week, the Finance Ministry predicted in its economic management plan that Korea will lose around 100,000 to 150,000 jobs this year, reported Joong Ang Daily. However, it is better than the 200,000 job losses predicted in April. The outlook was based on a projection that Korea's economy will shrink 1.5% this year, more optimistic than an earlier forecast of 2% made by the government.

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