The number of people employed in businesses with more than one employee in South Korea has fallen year-on-year for the first time in recorded history due to the economic disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the country's Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a study by Ministry of Employment and Labor
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2020) The number of people employed in businesses with more than one employee in South Korea has fallen year-on-year for the first time in recorded history due to the economic disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the country's Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a study by Ministry of Employment and Labor.
According to the ministry report, the number of people employed on the last working day of March fell by 1.2 percent compared to the previous year, a drop of 225,000 people, the agency said.
The job cuts have been concentrated in companies with less than 300 employees, the agency said. These enterprises reported a 1.6 percent drop in the number of workers, with the accommodation and food sector having been the most severely affected.
The fall in employee numbers is the first year-on-year decline since the ministry began keeping records in June 2009, the agency said.
South Korea quickly enacted lockdown measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in late February amid a rapid rise in cases. Since then, the daily number of new cases has dropped significantly, with 14 new positive tests being reported on Tuesday, up four from Monday.
In total, 10,752 cases of the disease have been confirmed in South Korea since the start of the outbreak, resulting in the deaths of 244 people.
