Making Fewer Jobs
The Hyundai Research Institute released a report on job creation capabilities by industry since the global financial crisis on Oct. 25, and said that Korean industries recorded an average coefficient of employment of 13.1 persons in 2013, lower than that of 2009 by a margin of 0.7 and that of 2005 by 3.2.
According to the report, the coefficient of employment is defined as the number of jobs directly and indirectly created when goods and services worth 1 billion won (US$882,460) are produced and covers paid workers, self-employed people, and temps.
The drop in the coefficient is attributable to a reduction in the efficiency of job creation in the manufacturing sector. In the sector, the coefficient fell from 11.3 to 8.8 between the period of 2005 to 2008 and the period of 2010 and 2013. During the same period, it decreased from 9.8 to 9.5 in the construction sector, and from 18.7 to 18.1 in the service industry.
At the same time, job creation efficiency regarding paid employees showed an overall decline as well. The index that reflects only this efficiency dropped from 10.1 to 8.8 between 2005 and 2013. In the manufacturing and construction sectors, it fell from 8.2 to 6.0 and from 8.6 to 7.0 between the two periods, respectively. Meanwhile, the service industry recorded an increase from 12.4 to 13.0 persons.