South Korea‘s manufacturing sectors saw about 79,000 jobs disappear in October this year, the largest monthly drop on record. It broke August’s record of a decline by 77,000 workers.

These and other findings were released by the Ministry of Employment Labor on Monday, attributing the drops to weakened exports from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The drop in the number of workers in all industries improved slightly each month, but the ministry noted that it was due to an increase in government-led public jobs rather than from private businesses. The ministry added that signs such as the number of companies seeking subsidies to maintain employment indicate that the continued drop in jobs will not yet lead to a massive restructuring of businesses. The companies appear to instead seek alternatives such as expanding unpaid leaves, the ministry said. 

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)