Labor Ministry holds emergency meeting as jobs data turns negative for first time in 17 months

South Korea's labor authorities launched an emergency response Friday after the number of employed workers fell for the first time since the current government took office. The government said it would actively consider designating additional preemptive employment-crisis zones and special employment-support sectors in areas and industries showing signs of distress.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said it held an employment situation review meeting Friday at the Government Sejong Complex, chaired by Vice Minister Kwon Chang-jun. Senior ministry officials, including the director general for employment policy, and the heads of seven regional employment and labor offices nationwide attended.

The meeting was convened in direct response to May employment data released Thursday, which showed the number of employed workers fell 40,000 from a year earlier — the first year-on-year decline in 17 months since December last year.

According to May employment figures released by the Ministry of Statistics, the employment rate dropped 0.5 percentage points from a year ago to 63.3 percent. Manufacturing shed 140,000 jobs and construction lost 40,000, while the number of employed youth fell by 255,000, pointing to a broadening deterioration in the labor market.

"The number of employed workers has turned negative for the first time in 17 months amid difficult domestic and external economic conditions stemming from the prolonged war in the Middle East," Kwon said. "We are taking the situation very seriously, particularly as weakness in manufacturing, construction and youth employment continues to deepen."

He added that it was difficult to predict when conditions would improve given the ongoing conflict. "The government will mobilize all ministries to respond swiftly, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor will do its utmost to improve the employment situation," he said.

As an immediate measure, the ministry said it would help companies struggling due to the Middle East situation make full use of employment stability programs, including the employment retention subsidy, to prevent a temporary economic downturn from triggering large-scale job insecurity.

The ministry also said it would maintain close communication with local governments and industry associations, and would review designating additional preemptive employment-crisis zones or special employment-support sectors if early warning signs emerge.

In addition, the ministry plans to verify that crisis-region support projects and youth New Deal programs funded through a recent supplementary budget are being carried out without delay, and to quickly address any institutional constraints or execution bottlenecks identified.

Kwon urged officials to conduct detailed, sector-by-sector and region-by-region checks on employment retention in manufacturing-heavy areas, the scale of the shock hitting construction sites, and conditions in vulnerable segments such as subcontractors.