Number of Employed Drops for First Time in 17 Months... Minister Kim Younghoon Says "Considering Designation of Preemptive Employment Crisis Response Areas"

In the wake of the Middle East war, the number of employed people in May declined for the first time in 17 months. On June 11, Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, stated, "Difficulties in the labor market, especially in the manufacturing sector, have become prominent," adding, "We will closely monitor regional employment conditions and actively respond by designating preemptive response areas to protect jobs."

Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor Photo by Yonhap News

On this day, when the Ministry of Data and Statistics announced the May employment trends, Minister Kim wrote on his social media, "I recognize the current employment situation as extremely serious and feel a grave sense of responsibility." According to the ministry, the number of employed people in May decreased by 40,000 compared to a year ago, marking the first decline in 17 months. Due to the prolonged Middle East war, manufacturing jobs saw the largest drop in 7 years and 3 months, and the number of employed individuals aged 15–29 recorded the steepest decrease in 5 years and 4 months, continuing the youth employment cold spell.

Minister Kim urgently ordered a close inspection of regional employment conditions first. He stated, "We will closely monitor employment conditions by industry and region in the future and will actively consider designating preemptive response areas for employment crises and special employment support industries."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.