Stopgap measures only lead to waste of taxpayers' money
Korea's job market has frozen since the beginning of the year. According to the January job report released by Statistics Korea Wednesday, the number of jobless people hit 1.22 million, the most since 2000. The unemployment rate also shot to 4.5 percent, the highest in nine years. Only 19,000 new jobs were created on a net basis in the first month of the year, compared with the 334,000 new jobs created in the same month of last year. Positive signs are hard to find in most areas and sectors.
The Moon Jae-in administration has spent a lot of its fiscal resources on job creation, but the employment situation has moved backward. In the manufacturing sector where decent jobs are concentrated, the number of employed people plunged 170,000. The wholesale-retail industry, hit by steep hikes in the minimum wage, also saw jobs shrink sharply. Filling the void was the health-welfare area, which added 170,000 jobs, aided by the government's massive injection of taxpayers' money.
Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki hung down his head, saying, "I feel a heavy responsibility for the serious job market situation." What he put forth after the remark was pitiable indeed ― increasing employment in the public sector by 2,000 more than the initial plan. It is small surprise the government's easygoing approach drew criticism, ahead of the college graduation season when new jobseekers will flood the labor market. Some officials are already talking about another extra budget, revealing their addiction to fiscal spending.
The time has long past for Moon's economic team to face up to reality and realize stopgap measures won't solve the aggravating employment crisis. Economic officials should admit the problem is due mainly to policy failures. They should come forward to change their course of action. They ought to learn from the United States and Japan where jobs are overflowing, and businesses are competing to hire college graduates.
As we have repeatedly emphasized, the Moon administration has to reshape its employment policy by relaxing regulations that stifle free corporate activities and creating conditions for them to make new investments. The starting point should be to stop revising commercial laws aimed at suppressing entrepreneurship, and to create an employment-friendly atmosphere.
Korea's job market has frozen since the beginning of the year. According to the January job report released by Statistics Korea Wednesday, the number of jobless people hit 1.22 million, the most since 2000. The unemployment rate also shot to 4.5 percent, the highest in nine years. Only 19,000 new jobs were created on a net basis in the first month of the year, compared with the 334,000 new jobs created in the same month of last year. Positive signs are hard to find in most areas and sectors.
The Moon Jae-in administration has spent a lot of its fiscal resources on job creation, but the employment situation has moved backward. In the manufacturing sector where decent jobs are concentrated, the number of employed people plunged 170,000. The wholesale-retail industry, hit by steep hikes in the minimum wage, also saw jobs shrink sharply. Filling the void was the health-welfare area, which added 170,000 jobs, aided by the government's massive injection of taxpayers' money.
Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki hung down his head, saying, "I feel a heavy responsibility for the serious job market situation." What he put forth after the remark was pitiable indeed ― increasing employment in the public sector by 2,000 more than the initial plan. It is small surprise the government's easygoing approach drew criticism, ahead of the college graduation season when new jobseekers will flood the labor market. Some officials are already talking about another extra budget, revealing their addiction to fiscal spending.
The time has long past for Moon's economic team to face up to reality and realize stopgap measures won't solve the aggravating employment crisis. Economic officials should admit the problem is due mainly to policy failures. They should come forward to change their course of action. They ought to learn from the United States and Japan where jobs are overflowing, and businesses are competing to hire college graduates.
As we have repeatedly emphasized, the Moon administration has to reshape its employment policy by relaxing regulations that stifle free corporate activities and creating conditions for them to make new investments. The starting point should be to stop revising commercial laws aimed at suppressing entrepreneurship, and to create an employment-friendly atmosphere.
