코로나 재확산에 취업자 감소폭 다시 확대…9월 39만2천명↓<br /><br />Some more brutal job figures for South Korea,… showing seven straight months of on-year decline due to COVID-19 and the related economic crisis.<br />But the nation's finance chief insists the figures will start recovering in October.<br />Eum Ji-young reports.<br />For seven months in a row, the monthly employment figures in South Korea have been worse than they were the year earlier.<br />According to Statistics Korea on Friday, 392-thousand fewer people were in employment in September compared to the same time the previous year.<br />That is a fall of one-point-four percent on-year the largest drop in four months.<br />Last month's figures reflect the impact of strengthened social distancing measures in the capital and surrounding area due to the surge in infections.<br />"The drop in September's job figures reflects the resurgence of COVID-19 infections since mid-August and the impact of the prolonged pandemic."<br />The rate of employment for those aged between 15 and 64 was around 66 percent in September,… down one-point-four percentage points compared to the same period the previous year.<br />And two-point-four million people took a temporary leave of absence from work in September, which is the most for the month of September since the statistics were first compiled in 2003. It was also up 13-point-six percent on-year.<br />The largest job losses were in the restaurants and lodging sectors which had 225-thousand fewer jobs last month than a year earlier. That's about a 10 percent fall.<br />The Finance Minister commented at a ministerial meeting that the recent surge in infections has halted the recovery in the job market.<br />But he added that the situation is better than back in March and April, and that October's figures are also expected to show an improvement.<br />He also announced plans to issue discount coupons in eight areas such as lodging and tourism to boost spending and revitalize regional economies.<br />Eum Ji-young Arirang News.<br />
