Rising number blamed on stagnant job creation, sluggish economy
The number of applicants to the government’s unemployment program exceeded 600,000 last year for the first time, according to estimates. This increase was caused by sluggishness in the creation of new jobs, as well as a change in rules allowing more people to be eligible for the allowance, observers said. In a given month last year, people aged 29 and under accounted for over 27 percent of the applicants, indicating the continued problem of youth unemployment in South Korea. According to data from the Ministry of Labor’s Worknet Web site on January 1, new applicants for unemployment benefits during the first 11 months of last year numbered over 560,000, an 8.8 percent increase from the same period the previous year. Given that the average number of new applicants per month was more than 40,000 throughout the year, it is estimated that the figure for all of 2006 surpassed 600,000. Under the unemployment benefit system, those that lose their jobs after working 180 days or more at companies providing unemployment insurance receive 50 percent of their average wages for a period of 90-240 days.The number of applicants for unemployment support hovered around 200,000-300,000 between 1999 and 2003 and then soared to over 470,000 in 2004 and nearly 566,000 in 2005. Out of people eligible for the benefits during November last year, those in their 30s accounted for 30.0 percent, those aged 29 or less made up 27.2 percent, those in their 40s accounted for 20.7 percent, and persons in their 50s comprised 16.2 percent. Such an increase of unemployment benefit applicants can be blamed on a lack of job creation due to the prolonged economic slump, observers said. Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]
