'Semiconductor Effect': Manufacturing Employment Rebounds Slightly for the First Time in 15 Months... Construction Industry on 37th Consecutive Month of Downturn

[Financial News] The number of employment insurance subscribers in the manufacturing sector has rebounded slightly for the first time in 15 months. It is assessed that the strong performance of the semiconductor industry has had a partially positive impact on employment in related sectors. While the service sector continues to sustain overall employment growth, the number of employment insurance subscribers in the construction industry has failed to recover from its slump, with the number of subscribers declining for 37 consecutive months.
According to labor market trends based on employment administration statistics released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) on the 7th, the total number of permanent subscribers to employment insurance in August of this year was 15,905,000, an increase of 278,000 compared to the same month last year, marking an increase in the high 200,000s for eight consecutive months.
In August as well, the number of subscribers in the service sector led the growth. The number of service sector subscribers increased by 280,000 to 11,164,000.
The number of subscribers in the manufacturing sector rebounded slightly for the first time in 15 months. The number of subscribers in August was 3,842,000, an increase of 2,000 (0.1%) compared to the same period last year. This is interpreted as being driven by the continued export boom in sectors such as semiconductors, shipbuilding, and food, just as it was last month.
Cho Won-sik, Head of the Future Employment Analysis Division at the Ministry of Labor, analyzed, "The semiconductor, shipbuilding, and food sectors contributed to the increase in manufacturing employment," adding, "We estimate that semiconductor-related machinery and equipment have increased, and the number of subscribers in medical precision optics has also risen significantly, which also appears to be related to semiconductor equipment."
It is assessed that overall manufacturing employment improved as the trend of employment improvement continued not only in electronics and telecommunications, which are directly related to semiconductors, but also in machinery and equipment and medical precision optics, which include semiconductor-related equipment. Looking at the manufacturing sector by medium classification, the number of subscribers in electronics and telecommunications, which has the largest share, increased by 4,700 (0.9%) compared to the same month of the previous year, while machinery and equipment and medical precision optics also increased by 2,700 (0.6%) and 2,200 (1.8%), respectively.
Other transportation equipment (including shipbuilding) and food products also contributed, increasing by 7,600 people (5.2%) and 2,900 people (0.9%), respectively, compared to the same month of the previous year.
The number of subscribers in the construction industry has seen a slight reduction in the rate of decline, but it has still not been able to escape the downward trend for the 37th consecutive month.
The number of subscribers in the construction industry in August was 742,000, a decrease of 6,800 compared to the same month last year. The downward trend continues, centered on the general construction industry, which saw a decrease of 7,000.
Meanwhile, the amount of unemployment benefits paid in August was 1.0084 trillion won, a decrease of 24.5 billion won (2.4%) compared to the same month last year. The number of recipients also fell by 23,000 (3.6%) to 615,000.
According to Employment 24, new job openings increased by 6,000 (4.1%) to 161,000, while new job seekers decreased by 1,000 (0.2%) to 352,000. Consequently, the job opening ratio (number of jobs per job seeker) for August was 0.46, an improvement from the same month last year (0.44).

[email protected] Kim Jun-hyeok Reporter