고용 충격에 3월 사업체 종사자 사상 첫 감소... 4월 소비심리 하락<br /><br />The virus' economic fallout is very real and the numbers show it.<br />It's severely damaged the country's job market; credit card spending post a record drop last month and consumer sentiment plunged to levels unseen since the global financial crisis.<br />What's even more worrisome: South Koreans say they aren't looking to open up their wallets anytime soon.<br />Kim Jae-hee has the details.<br />The global coronavirus pandemic has seriously damaged South Korea's job market. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Tuesday,... South Korea saw its first on-year decrease in the number of those in employment.<br />The data excludes workers who are not employed by businesses,... such as nannies, chauffeurs or those hired by subcontractors.<br />"As of the last working day of March,... local business entities employing more than one person had some 18 million workers. This is down 1-point-2 percent from a year earlier,... and the first time that the number has decreased on-year since records began in 2009."<br />The number of regular workers decreased by just point-one percent in March, whereas the number of non-regular workers and employees in other types of jobs shrank by 7 percent and 7-point-9 percent, respectively.<br />By sector, the accommodation and food service sectors suffered the biggest loss of around 153 thousand workers,... followed by education services, and sectors related to arts and sports.<br />The job market isn't the only industry that has been hit by the coronavirus outbreak.<br />Data from the Credit Finance Association shows,...<br />the amount of purchases using credit and debit cards dropped 4-point-3 percent in March compared to a year earlier,... the largest on-year drop on record.<br />Concerns over the coronavirus outbreak have also dragged down consumer sentiment this month to the lowest level in over a decade.<br />According to data from the Bank of Korea on Tuesday,... South Korea's Composite Consumer Sentiment Index plunged to 70-point-8 in April.<br />That's the lowest since December 2008, during the global financial crisis.<br />South Korea's consumer sentiment has fallen for the third straight month.<br />The index fell 7-point-6 points on-month in April,... another big fall following the 18-point-5 points plunge last month.<br />The sentiment index for current economic conditions, the index for current financial status, and the outlook for jobs were all down.<br />Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.<br />
