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Monitoring Report on Public Employment Offices
Korean Women Workers Associations United (KWWAU) (November 30, 1998)
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Public employment offices undertake the following activities:
job counselling, job placement; collection, analysis, and provision of local employment information; operation of job information network and research on the current labor market, job placement and protection of domestic labor force overseas; monitoring and supervising activities related to job placement, work opening for the unemployed; and activities related to employment insurance and provision of financial support for developing job capacities for labor force.
Chapter 4. Analysis of Survey Results of Unemployed Women
In the current economic crisis, it is very difficult for the unemployed to find adequate and appropriate jobs and to receive sufficient job counseling with counselors. Hence, this study was conducted to find solutions to the various hardships and problems that unemployed women face.
Over 1,000 questionnaires were distributed. 721 questionnaires were returned and used for this analysis. By region, 201 questionnaires were collected in Seoul, 170 in Pusan, 146 in Inchon, and 204 in Kwangju. From these questionnaires, 497 women are registered as job seekers with public employment offices, and 220 women are unregistered with public employment offices. In this analysis non-replies were excluded.
Table 1. Number of surveys collected
Region
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative Frequency
Cumulative percent
Seoul
201
27.9
201
27.9
Pusan
170
23.6
371
51.5
Inchon
146
20.2
517
71.7
Kwangju
204
28.3
721
100.0
Characteristics of the sample
The 24 and under age group accounts for 13.8%, that of 25-29 of 18.6%, the 30-39 for 30.6%, the 40-49 for 28.7%, and the 50 and over for 8.4%. By educational level, high school dropouts and high school graduates (38.9%) and university graduates and above (26.8%) form the largest majority. Additionally, 49% of women are female householders and 58.7% are unemployed women with economic responsibilities.
Table 2. Distribution by age
Age group
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Less than 20
5
0.7
5
0.7
20-24
91
13.1
96
13.8
25-29
129
18.6
225
32.4
30-34
98
14.1
323
46.5
35-39
115
16.5
438
63.0
40-44
136
19.6
574
82.6
45-49
63
9.1
637
91.7
50-54
36
5.2
673
96.8
55-59
18
2.6
691
99.4
60+
4
0.6
695
100.0
Table 3. Distribution by educational level
Educational levels
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
No regular education
6
0.9
6
0.9
elementary school graduates and dropouts
65
9.3
71
10.2
middle school graduates and dropouts
112
16.0
183
26.2
highschool graduates and dropouts
272
38.9
455
65.1
University graduates and dropouts
57
8.2
512
73.2
more than university graduates
187
26.8
699
100.0
Table 4. Are you female householders?
answers
Frequency
percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Yes
338
49.0
339
49.0
No
352
51.0
690
100.0
Table 5. Do you have to bear economical responsibilities of families?
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Yes
398
58.7
398
58.7
No
280
41.3
678
100.0
Table 6. Details of your families
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Parents
30
7.7
30
7.7
Husbands
12
3.1
42
10.8
Children
244
62.2
286
73.0
Parents and Husbands
4
1.0
290
74.0
Husbands and children
67
17.1
357
91.1
Parents and children
26
6.6
383
97.7
Parents, husband and children
9
2.3
392
100.0
Those who have previous work experiences account for 91.9% of the total respondents. Approximately 28.4% of women were involved in ordinary clerical occupations and 26.0% in service and sales related occupations, which represent the highest number of the total respondents. Their monthly wages prior to their unemployment were 0.7-0.9 million WON (26.1%), 0.5-0.7 million WON (21.1%), 0.9-1.1 million WON (20.8%).
Table 7. Did you have previous work experience?
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Yes
662
91.9
662
91.9
No
58
8.1
720
100.0
Table 8. Jobs prior to their unemployment
Occupation
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Administrative and management
15
2.1
15
2.1
Professional
72
10.2
87
12.4
skilled and semi-professional
61
8.7
148
21.0
ordinary clerical
200
28.4
348
49.4
service and sales
183
26.0
531
75.4
Agriculture and fishery
9
1.3
540
76.7
skilled technicians
21
3.0
561
79.7
unskilled processing work
40
5.7
601
85.4
unskilled, peddling and cleaning
103
14.6
704
100.0
Table 9. Your wage levels in the previous work
Wage levels
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Less than 0.5 million
135
18.7
135
18.7
0.5-0.7 million
152
21.1
287
39.8
0.7-0.9 million
188
26.1
475
65.9
0.9-1.1 million
150
20.8
625
86.7
more than 1.1 million
96
13.3
721
100.0
On the other hand, as many as 72.3% represent women who had stopping working within a year.
Table 10. When did you stop working?
Period
Frequency
percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Within 1 year
474
72.3
474
72.3
2-3yrs
95
14.5
569
86.8
4-5 yrs
21
3.2
590
90.0
5-7 yrs
22
3.3
612
93.3
over 8 yrs
44
6.7
656
100.0
As many as 34.5% of women had stopped working because of personal reasons, and 23.0% because of bankruptcies of their companies and shop closures. In addition to these figures, 7.3% of women had been laid off, 4.6% had submitted early retirements, 2.1% had been recommended to be retired, and 1.9% had finished their job contracts.
Table 11. Reason given for stopping working
Reasons for stopping working
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Personal reason
233
34.5
233
34.5
Voluntary retirement
64
9.5
297
44.0
Bankruptcy and shop closure
155
23.0
452
67.0
Expiring contracts
13
1.9
465
68.9
Honored and early retirement
31
4.6
496
73.5
Lay-offs
49
7.3
545
80.7
Recommended retirement
14
2.1
559
82.8
Retirement due to age
1
0.1
560
83.0
Others
115
17.0
675
100.0
Results from the survey on unemployed women registered as job seekers with public employment offices
Women registered as job seekers total 497 persons with public employment offices, accounting for 69.3% of the total respondents. In terms of the public employment offices where they register, local labor offices represent 38.1%, manpower banks 20.1%, Industrial Manpower Corp. 26%, district offices 19.9%, the offices of Dong 22.8%, and other public offices 13.9%. Also, unpaid temporary agencies make up 0.4%, paid agencies 0.8%, manpower agencies 0.8%, Action Centers for Women's Unemployment 7.2%, and others 0.6%. Therefore, the public offices where the great number of women are registered are local labor offices. Unemployed women are found to register with several offices. Their average number of registered offices is 1.15.
Table 12. Which offices and agencies did you register as job seekers?
Names of job related offices and agencies
Frequency (person)
Percent (%)
Local labor offices
186
30.0
Manpower banks
98
15.8
Industrial manpower Corp.
13
2.1
Local district offices
97
15.6
Offices of Dong
111
17.9
Other public employment offices
68
11.0
Unpaid temporary agencies
2
0.3
Paid temporary agencies
4
0.6
Manpower agencies
4
0.6
Action Centers for Women's Unemployment
35
5.6
Others
3
0.5
Total
621
100.0
As many as 12.3% of women identify the office of Dong as the public employment office where they registered for usual job opening and placement, 11.7% with local labor offices, 11.7% with manpower banks, 10.7% with local districts, which accounts for 12.3% of the total number of the respondents. However, 55.5% of women have never been placed with jobs by public offices. This confirms that job placement by public offices are very low.
Table 13. Which public offices did you open and place jobs after your registration?
Names of public offices
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Local labor offices
46
9.5
46
9.5
Manpower banks
46
9.5
92
19.0
Industrial manpower Corp.
4
0.8
96
19.8
Local district offices
42
8.7
138
28.5
offices of Dong
48
10.0
186
38.5
Other public offices
34
7.0
220
45.5
Nil
263
54.5
483
100.0
Table 14. Number of job openings by public offices
Number
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Once
130
27.4
130
27.4
2-3 times
55
11.6
185
39.0
More than 4 times
26
5.5
211
44.5
Nil
263
55.5
474
100.0
Regarding the reason for the low rate of job placement, 40.6% of women indicate that jobs are not available, 14.2% think their careers are unprofessional, and 17.6% reply that they are too old, while 6.2% of women indicate that officers are indifferent and unhelpful.
Table 15. Why do you think that you are informed of few jobs?
Reasons
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
No job is available
131
40.6
131
40.6
Officers are unhelpful and indifferent
20
6.2
151
46.8
My job is unprofessional
46
14.2
197
61.0
I am too old
57
17.6
254
78.6
I am married
17
5.3
271
83.9
Others
52
16.1
323
100.0
Concerning the item related to their acceptance of jobs, when jobs became available, only 56.5% of women accepted jobs placed by offices. 43.5% did not accept job placements..
Table 16. Did you accept the job opening?
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Yes
117
56.5
117
56.5
No
90
43.5
207
100.0
The reasons for not accepting the job in spite of the job opening are the following: 33.3% identify their jobs were different, 17.9% were refused by the company, 16.7% indicate the job was temporary, and 13.1% found working atmospheres contrary to what they were told. In particular, the highest rate (33.3%) confirm that job information made by employment offices are not adequate and precise.
Table 17. Why did you not start working in spite of your acceptance?
Reasons for not starting work
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
The job is different
28
33.3
28
33.3
It is temporary.
14
16.7
42
50.0
Strange working atmosphere
11
13.1
53
63.1
I am rejected by the company
15
17.9
68
81.0
Others
16
19.0
84
100.0
The highest percentage (38.4%) of women indicate that the jobs was different to what they wanted, although the job had been found through public employment offices.
Table 18. Why did you not accept the job?
Reasons for not accepting job
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
It is different from expectation..
38
38.4
38
38.4
Wage is low
14
14.2
52
52.6
Working hours are too long
9
9.1
61
61.7
It is not based on monthly wage system.
2
2.0
63
63.7
The company is too far
13
13.1
76
76.8
Others
23
23.2
99
100.0
Regarding the question, if they register again after their three-month period, as many as 24.6% of women re-registered, but 43.7% did not register. Among those who did not register, the highest percentage (56.6%) of women reply that they did not because they were not guaranteed employment.
Table 19. Did you re-register after their 3 month duration?
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Yes
90
24.6
90
24.6
No
160
43.7
250
68.3
I am not eligible
116
31.7
366
100.0
Table 20. Why did you not register as a job seeker?
Reasons for not registering
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Employment is not guaranteed
98
56.6
98
56.6
I am already employed
16
9.2
114
65.8
It is easier to find a job through personal contacts
6
3.5
120
69.3
I don't have enough time
19
11.0
139
80.3
Others
34
19.7
173
100.0
In term of officers' attitudes, 59.7% of women indicate officers are neither helpful nor bad, 25.7% indicate satisfactory, and 8.3% indicate very satisfactory.
Table 21. Officers' attitudes when you are registeded
Officers' attitudes
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Very satisfactory
39
8.3
39
8.3
Satisfactory
121
25.7
160
34.0
So so
281
59.7
441
93.7
Unsatisfactory
27
5.7
468
99.4
Very unsatisfactory
3
0.6
471
100.0
As many as 30.4% of women identify poor job information as negative aspects of their counseling, 21.0% think job counseling is unprofessional, 17.5% mention officers' rude behaviour, and 9.0% feel embarrassed because offices are very crowded by other job seekers. Also, 8.8% of women feel uneasy and embarrassed to be bothered and to ask for help because they had to expose their problems in public as the offices had no partition between the various sections, and 7.6% mention shortage of counseling time. Further, for effective improvement in the future, 27.4% indicate the importance of detailed job information, 24.7% mention the necessity for the provision of a variety of job information, 18.1% for kind and detailed information on job placement, and 7.9% regarding increasing number of counselors (with sufficient counseling time).
Table 22. When did you feel uneasy during counseling? (the highest two are counted)
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Impoliteness
131
17.5
131
17.5
Lack of job information
227
30.4
358
47.9
Unprofessional counseling
157
21.0
515
68.9
Shortage of counseling time
57
7.6
572
76.5
Noisiness
18
2.4
590
78.9
Uneasiness due to absence of partition in various sections in the office
66
8.8
656
87.7
Embarrassment because it is crowded
67
9.0
723
96.7
Other
25
3.3
748
100.0
Table 23. Requirement to improve counseling effectively (the highest two)
Alternatives
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Professional counseling
202
24.7
202
24.7
friendly and detailed counseling
148
18.1
350
42.8
More counselors available (with sufficient counseling time)
64
7.9
414
50.7
Detailed job information
224
27.4
638
78.1
Various kinds of jobs
169
20.7
807
98.8
Others
10
1.2
817
100.0
Unemployed women hope to receive various unemployment-related information as well as job registration at the same time. Amongst 496 who registered as job seekers, 94.4% of women identify the necessity for providing unemployment-related information as well as job placement counseling. However in reality, only 32.3% of women were provided with substantial information about jobs. This represents that the government's one-stop services are not carried out well. Additionally, in relation to job information 16.6% of women receive only information on job training, and 11.0% on the public works project, which shows that job information is not professional or systematic.
Table 34. What kind of information did you receive in addition to registration as job-seekers by public employment offices?
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Yes
153
32.3
153
32.3
No
321
67.7
474
100.0
Table 35. Kind of information provided by public employment offices
Kind of information
No. of respondents
Percentage of respondents
information on job training
80
16.6
livelihood sustainability related information such as application of single mothers
34
7.0
information on Livelihood protection
25
5.2
information on medical care, catering and exemption of educational fees
14
2.9
Information on 'public works' projects
53
11.0
additional information on jobless people
26
5.4
Job related information such as aptitude tests
7
1.4
Table 36. Do you need any unemployment-related information as well as job placement?
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
very necessary
233
50.9
233
50.9
necessary
204
44.5
437
95.4
so so
20
4.4
457
99.8
very unnecessary
1
0.2
458
100.0
While the great majority (86.7%) of women indicate the necessity for women's counseling section. This is in contrast with the replies from public employment offices which do not acknowledge the necessity.
Table 37. Do you feel the necessity for women's session in job-related counseling?
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
Very much necessary
243
52.3
243
52.3
necessary
160
34.4
403
86.7
so so
51
11.0
454
97.7
unnecessary
7
1.5
461
99.2
very unnecessary
4
0.8
465
100.0
Results of the survey on unregistered women
Unemployed women who had not registered as job seekers numbered 220. As many as 48.2% of them mention that they have not registered because they did not know and 23.3% because employment is not guaranteed. In particular, the reply, "I don't know" constitutes 50% of the total unregistered women. It confirms poor public campaigning and poor performance by public employment offices, and the necessity for strengthening their functions.
Table 38. Did you register as job seekers?
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative Percent
Yes
497
69.3
496
69.3
No
220
30.7
716
100.0
Table 39. Why did you not register as job seekers?
Reasons
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percent
I don't know
93
48.2
93
48.2
employment is not guaranteed
45
23.3
138
71.5
It is easier to find a job through my contacts
9
4.7
147
76.2
I don't have time
21
10.9
168
87.1
It is very far
1
0.5
169
87.6
Other
24
12.4
193
100.0
Among them, 71.6% answer that they want to register as job seekers in the future. Also, 19.6% would think to register again.
Table 40. Do you have any intention to register as a job seeker?
Intention
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative frequency
Cumulative percentage
I want to register
139
71.6
139
71.6
I will think it over
38
19.6
177
91.2
I don't have any intention because employment is not guaranteed
9
4.6
186
95.8
Other
8
4.2
194
100.0
Chapter 5. Policy suggestions to consolidate functions of public employment offices
Interviews with public employment officers and their counselees in this survey, help to identify what needs to be improved in terms of job placement and counselling. They are related to job counsellors' professionalism, developing job counselling programs, increasing the number of recruiters, and improving the network of employment information. This survey shows that 94.4% of unemployed women who are already registered as job seekers want to be provided with a variety of information related to unemployment as well as counseling for job placement. Also, poor provision of job information, unprofessional job counselling, and inadequate counselling time are identified as the most negative aspects in their counselling with public employment officers. Hence, unemployed women identify obtaining detailed job information, increases in various kinds of job openings and placement, and sufficient counselling time as their most urgent needs and demands.
Recently, a research center under the Ministry of Labor points out the lack of public employment offices, and their labor force, a lack of their specialty, a lack of softwares for job counselling, insufficient quality and quantity of information, and poor atmosphere for counselling, as the major problems of the Korean public job offices. To solve these problems, the government should establish and implement alternative policies to consolidate functions of job offices.
Hence, this paper attempts to make policy suggestions, showing what should be improved in a short period of time, based on outcomes of the survey on monitoring public job offices and the survey on demands from unemployed women.
basic GOALS FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT OFFICES responsible for JOB PLACEMENT should be established.
Compared to other countries, functions of public employment offices are poor. Few employment offices are available in Korea. In late August 1998, national employment offices total 94, public employment offices 281, and temporary agencies 1,756. Among these agencies, 1,670 agencies are paid. This indicates that paid temporary agencies are prevalent in society to make use of poor performances of Korean public employment offices. Further, employment placed by employment offices in Korea is very low compared to in industrialized countries. In late August 1998, the rate of job placement by employment offices is marked at only 10%, although those by temporary agencies are relatively high in Korea.
The government has established and implemented several plans to consolidate functions of public employment offices in the future, but it is unclear how to consolidate employment. In particular, under the current situation of massive long-term unemployment, counter-measures against unemployment can be effectively carried out, only if functions of public employment offices are substantially consolidated.
Why are expansion and consolidation of public employment offices' functions required desperately for unemployed women?
Firstly, public employment offices mainly work for regular workers with age groups in their 20s and 30s. Many women find jobs through paid temporary agencies, thus, they are largely cheated and affected. Public employment offices do not work for the women who are placed in worsened conditions and occupy low status in the labor market.
Secondly, a higher number of female workers will continue to experience severe job insecurity and to engage in the invisible and informal sector, if public employment offices do not function properly for these women.
Thirdly, the government plans to set up a one-stop service system to provide relevant information related to job placement, job training, job information, employment counselling, employment benefit-related counselling, and other unemployment measures. However, women are unlikely to be benefited, because public employment offices largely do not target women. Only if public employment offices are able to maximize their functions for women who are more disadvantaged than men in society, in terms of employment and unemployment-related information, can the substantial information provision such as the one-stop service actually function.
Then, unemployed people go to job-seekers' registration sections. Appropriate and adequate information provision centered by the unemployed will facilitate public employment offices to develop unemployment countermeasures. Since the existing measures against unemployment are not gender sensitive, and the measures are neither good nor effective enough to improve women's status in the labor market, women will continue to be systematically excluded and marginalized if employment offices do not set up and implement active policies for women.
Therefore, a basic goal for public employment offices responsible for job placement should be established. The principle should target women clearly. In this regard, unpaid job placement based on ILO standards should be set up and implemented. Also, non-profitable and unpaid NGOs should play a role instead of private temporary agencies to maintain their public functions, and private paid temporary agencies should be eliminated. Furthermore, the existing "Dispatch Employment Law" should be reformed.
women's counselling sections (and centers) should be SIGNIFICANTLY consolidated for women initially enterING the labor market.
Under the current counseling system, manpower banks establish sections of 'potential manpower' which largely target handicapped people, housewives, part-time workers, and aged workers for simple and unskilled production work. Sections of counseling with housewives are classified into three categories --housewives, low paid part-timers (the so-called 'arbite'), and services, regardless of their age, educational level and occupation. Sections of counseling with aged workers focus on males aged 50 and over without any concern for their educational level, occupation, and marital status.
"Middle-aged and elderly women are usually engaged in simple and manual work or jobs in the service sector. They work as waitresses, assistants in the kitchen, or cleaners, while young married women are eligible for sales women positions." (a counselor in a manpower bank)
It is more difficult for those women newly entering the labor market to be re-employed. They are more unlikely to find jobs due to a lack of job information and self-confidence. According to results of a survey on 220 unemployed women, the highest ranking (48.2%) reply is "I don't know" regarding job registration, and 23.3% mention that "employment is not guaranteed". This means that a high number of women do not know that they are eligible for job registration with public employment offices. Additionally, out of 250 unemployed women who registered as job seekers, 160 women did not re-register after their three month duration and among them, 98 women reply that they did not register because their employment is not guaranteed.
As shown above, unemployed women are found to have a very low recognition of public employment offices and very low expectations regarding their employment. This brings about low counseling rate with housewives in their counseling section relative to other groups. Counselors specializing in housewives often carry out counseling for other groups of unemployed people in sections of other 'potential manpower' of the manpower bank.
Public employment offices should take into consideration women newly entering the labor market or middle-aged and elderly people in order to develop their capacities in society. Thus, functions of public employment offices should be strengthened. In order to achieve this, active public campaigns for job registration and job placement are required.
Secondly, the number of recruiters should be increased and employment offices' management and monitoring should be consolidated. In particular, employment offices should convince employers not to take into consideration women's marital status when recruiting.
Thirdly, more sensitive counseling is required. Public employment offices should encourage female job seekers who lack self-confidence through promoting their self-confidence and providing them with detailed information on how to find work. In addition, more professional counseling to provide detailed job information is required.
Thus, management and monitoring of recruiters are needed to help women adapt to their workplaces. A counselor in a manpower bank expresses concern over women's high turnover rate; officers mentioned that if women continued to be counseled, an increasing number of them would not terminate their work. However, counselors usually do not have enough time for those women. Counselors should take into consideration characteristics of women wishing to be employed and middle-aged and elderly women. Counselors' professional performances and sensitive management for women also are highly recommended. In addition, various stages of counseling and social facilities to promote their employment is necessary for women who stop working because of child care.
Finally, management and monitoring of job networks for unemployed women should be consolidated. Public employment offices usually give job placement by telephone. Computerized job networks should be more diversified to find more detailed information by marital status, occupation and age.
Counseling systems for women in public employment offices should be established.
As many as 85.7% of women indicate that professional women's counseling systems and roles are necessary in the following areas: sections for women whose working careers and skills are not professional nor high enough to find jobs; their roles to improve discriminatory employment situations against women; their roles to represent and develop unemployed women's needs and demands into policies; and their functions to make provisions of adequate and appropriate job information. Due to inadequate job placement and poor provision of job information, women largely feel the need for women's counseling system.
It is difficult for unemployed women to find jobs because of general job classification and management based on gender segregation. Since gender segregation is serious in the labor market and women are concentrated in simple and unskilled occupations, it is more difficult for women actually to find jobs, compared to men. Additionally, due to low social recognition of the female labor force, it is very difficult for women with no special skills except those in their 20s to find jobs. Therefore, the group who often takes counseling is women in their 20s and early 30s. Those with more than 35 years find irregular jobs through paid temporary agencies and manpower agencies. An increasing number of women have been negatively affected by these agencies. So, effective management and monitoring for women should be systemized in order for public employment offices to establish stable job networks.
Thus, what kinds of systems should be established? Systems specializing in housewives newly entering the labor market and middle-and-aged people should be consolidated. However, independent women' sections which are clearly separate from other sections are found to be not so effective. A manpower bank in Pusan established an independent job placement section for newly university graduate women, but it is found not to be effective. This is due to the reality that newly graduated women usually visit counseling sections according to types of occupations.
Hence, systematic management and monitoring of female forces in all sections of public employment offices are required to provide job information and job placement, and to carry out sensitive counselling. To achieve this, each section should specialize in the female labor force, and consolidate counselors' capacities and specialties. Women's realities should be taught to counselors and female psychological counselling should be provided to counselors.
Secondly, there should be more recruiters and they should be managed. Since women are discriminated against in the labor market, information on recruiters for women should be actively and systematically collected.
Thirdly, information on female job-seekers should be systemized and updated regularly in the "Work-net" to share information with various counselors.
Finally, issues faced and recognized by counselors should be developed into policies for women. Further, women's counseling should be systemized. To obtain this, a system responsible for women workers should exist and counselors in all counseling sections according to types of jobs should be educated.
Monitoring of paid private job agencies should be reinforced
The government's present policies about private temporary agencies should be dramatically improved. The government largely views them as supporting the present poor performance of public employment offices and largely softens regulations related to the temporary agencies.
The government announced its policies of softening regulations on the establishment of paid temporary agencies, upgrading their commissions, and reinforcing regular monitoring conducted by the government. The Ministry of Labor's attempt to shift its license system to the report system in regard to temporary agencies was stopped in the National Assembly. However, it still plans to soften related regulations.
According to information provided by the Ministry of Labor, only 380 cases of unreasonable job placement were reported, and only 24 cases of their illegal activities in job placement were found by labor-related offices in 1998. Under the current circumstances in which many women find their jobs through community papers many women continued to be cheated, and an increasing number of women are abused by private agencies who assist them in their employment process. Thus, the offices involved should tighten their monitoring of private agencies.
By region, Seoul has 145 temporary agencies, Pusan 31, Daegu 9, Inchon 5, Kwangju 22, Daejon 27, Ulsan 5, Kangwon Province 26, Konggi Province 20, North Choongchong Province 14, South Choongchong Province 8, North Cholla Province 16, South Cholla Province 24, North Kyongsang Province 16, South Kyongsang Province 10, Cheju Province 2, which total only 380 cases. Among them, the registration status of 57 temporary agencies are actually cancelled, but only 36 agencies have ceased operating. Also, 287 cases are warned and charged with other penalties.
On the other hand, only 24 cases of unregistered temporary agencies were prosecuted. Among the 24 cases, 4 were administratively punished and 20 cases were accused, but eventually only 9 cases were prosecuted, 1 case was not prosecuted and 10 cases are under consideration.
Paid temporary agencies usually ask for high commission, and an increasing number of unemployed people are affected through fake advertisements in community papers. In particular, a much higher number of women find their jobs through other routes than through public employment agencies. However, the administrative power such as the monitoring of temporary agencies is very weak.
Therefore, it is necessary to enforce laws by consolidating administrative power. The most effective and practical way to strengthen public employment agencies is to cover the present function of temporary agencies.
Public employment offices should be available immediately at the local district level with professional counselors. Functions of local self-governing bodies should also be consolidated in close relation to public employment offices.
At this moment, local self-governing bodies have unemployment countermeasures sections, and job information centers, carrying out 'public works' projects. However, activities of job information centers run by local governing bodies are largely evaluated as temporarily limited.
In Seoul, many local districts have opened job information centers at a fast pace compared to in other areas. Activities of some local district offices are evaluated very positively. However, activities carried out by many local districts are viewed as insufficient.
In Inchon, only 5 out of 10 local districts have opened job placement centers, and only the Poo-Pyong District office employs counselors who deal with job placement. The Poo-Pyong District office which has professional counselors, accounts for 43.2% of the total information on recruiters, for 40% of the total number of job seekers, and for 46.8% of the total number of employment in Inchon city. The district not only strengthens its public campaigning of employment at the local level, but also runs meetings between recruiters and job seekers on every Wednesday and Thursday and public campaigns finding jobs such as home-based work, differentiated it from other local districts.
In Pusan, 16 local districts have opened their job information centers. However, according to monitoring reports of 4 districts, only one officer is found to handle other tasks as well as counseling on job placement, assisted by another staff. This situation is quite similar in Kwangju: public employment offices in 5 local districts are open, but just one officer and one counselor are appointed for job placement.
By quality as well as quantity, activities of public employment offices are very poor. In the current era of economic crisis and massive unemployment, the most necessary service by local self-governing bodies is to provide job placement and counseling. From the perspective of job seekers, it is the most desirable that local centers equally provide various job information for job seekers. In particular, it is very difficult for women to travel far between workplaces and their residential areas.
Hence, employment centers should be established immediately at the local district level. This center should operate in close network with local labor offices, manpower banks, and local self-governing bodies. Compared to the registered number of 15,320 job seekers in 619 public employment offices in Japan, this shows how poor performance is made by Korean public employment offices. Accordingly, national offices and local self-governing bodies should implement active policies and make close networks to consolidate the quality and quantity of their functions.
In addition, existing functions and activities of job placement and information provision on unemployment in the Women's Welfare Centers run directly by or authorized by local self-governing bodies, should be extensively strengthened. These centers and public employment offices should work closely together.
Professionalism and persistence of public counselors should be obtained.
Counselors of public employment offices were newly introduced in 1998. In September 1998, as many as 967 counselors worked in 46 local labor offices, 33 employment security centers, 18 manpower banks, and further, the government plans to increase their numbers. However, very few public employment offices appoint professional counselors in local districts. Related officers in many public employment offices usually have to deal with other tasks, or assist the project of 'public works'. Female job seekers who experience consultation in public employment offices, usually complain on the insufficient activities of job-related information provision and counseling. Therefore, professionalism and persistences of counseling as well as increase in the number of job counselors are very important.
According to interviews with job counselors, many of them have heavy workloads. They point out the obtainment of an adequate number of counselors, and development of their specialties and job counselling-related programs. In the interview with a counselor in B manpower bank, the counselor treated 20 job seekers on the average per day. It usually takes 30 minutes a job seeker. This shows that the existing system of job counseling and job placement is not sufficient enough.
In B local district whose activities are the most active, counselors for job placement replied that it takes about 50 minutes to counsel each person, but the office has an adequate number of counselors. Some local self-governing bodies stated that it is difficult to measure how many counselors are needed. Another local district evaluates its 4 existing counselors as adequate to carry out its counseling.
However, most local self-governing bodies' experience is that their job officers usually manage other tasks, so they are not able to offer sufficient counseling, although the number of job officers are not absolutely insufficient in proportion to the number of job seekers.
According to regulation of job counselors, heads of employment information centers should provide training at least once per year to improve counselors' capacities. But, monitoring re-training programs in national employment offices found that inadequate and inappropriate re-training and internal training programs are undertaken due to a lack of the experts involved. In many local self-governing bodies, officers dealing with 'public works' projects are found to assist job counseling.
Insufficient counseling due to a lack of professional counselors is also pointed out by unemployed women. Moreover, unemployed women wish to take sufficient counseling with professional counselors.
In their interviews, counselors are found to experience employment insecurity because they are employed on a one-year employment contract basis. Although there is a decrease in the number of officers in the current economic crisis, professionalism and persistence are especially needed for job counselors, in order to consolidate functions of employment offices and to contribute to the expansion of female employment through increasing the number of welfare service workers.
Other countries exemplify the importance of professionalism and persistence of employment offices. In Japan, officers in employment offices largely deal with only employment benefits and work-related job securities. They are seldom relocated to other regions. In Germany, re-allocation of officers in central employment offices to other sections are limited.
more recruiters should be guaranteed, and monitoring recruiters should be consolidated.
1) Strengthening the identification and monitoring of recruiters
Basically, employment offices should guarantee the number of recruiters and identify recruiters in advance. However, their basic roles are very unsatisfactory. Employment offices usually identify recruiters through job seekers after their interview with recruiters.
Information provided to the Action Center for Women's Unemployment shows why monitoring recruiters should be consolidated:
"I was employed as a bookkeeper in a firm. The job was placed by a government's employment office. The office seemed too clean and big to be suspected. However, after my one-month's work the company delayed my wage, so I asked them to pay me. A week after the request, I went to the office in the morning and I found all the office fixtures and furniture gone. The company already moved out. I was at a tremendous loss. I didn't know what to do. My one-month wage is gone. I went to the employment office to make a complaint. But, the officers just said that it is not their responsibility because they placed the job only through the paper."
However, counselors in public employment offices identify their advantages as being able to identifying recruiters, which is different from temporary agencies:
"Public employment offices are not profit-oriented. This is very different from temporary agencies. Many temporary agencies are illegal. They exist just to make profit. So, they exert many negative effects on job seekers. My experiences for some years let me tell recruiters. I don't place poor jobs to job seekers."
In particular, women largely experience job insecurity working in small-size companies. Taking into consideration the reality that information on recruiters is usually collected by fax and call, monitoring recruiters should be consolidated.
2) Increasing the number of recruiters
Interviews with counselors in public employment offices show there should be more recruiters to improve their functions of job placement and counseling. In addition, unemployed women indicate that more detailed job information should be available and the kinds of job placements should be expanded.
T manpower bank carries out weekly activities of finding more recruiters by a counselor, assisted by staff members of the public works project. In C local labor office 8 staff members of the public works project are trained between July 20 and October 19, 1998 to find more recruiters.
On the other hand, some employment offices belonging to local self-governing bodies perform the activities of finding more recruiters, but they do not arrange related staff members. In some cases, offices are not able to put forth efforts to find more recruiters.
Under such circumstances, recruiters targeting women workers are not monitored by national employment offices. Most local self-governing bodies do not provide post-monitoring in practice.
The most effective and desirable way of finding more recruiters should be carried out through public employment offices and should provide as much information as possible about job networks. In particular, in reality where women's job security has worsened and their employment has been invisible, it is very urgent and necessary to implement policies for women based on job placement through public offices.
Therefore, systematic policies are required to monitor job placement by public employment offices and to provide as much available information as possible into the "work-net". Also, the local employment offices involved should monitor and monitor job information in the "work-net" by region, occupation and manpower.
Counseling atmosphere should be changed immediately.
This issue is commonly demanded by government's research centers, counselors, and unemployed women. According to the monitoring, many public offices are very noisy and there are no partitions between various sections in offices. Unemployed women indicate that they are embarrassed because there is no partition. Thus, their problems are exposed in public. Counselors also agree that counseling atmospheres should be improved to carry out more effective performances and sufficient counseling.
The current method of counseling, undertaken at the site of the sections for job-seekers should be changed to stabilize job-related counseling. In particular, it is very clear that the noisy environment blocks counselors and unemployed women from carrying out sensitive counseling. It is very important to provide comfortable and stable atmosphere to counselors and counselees. This is a determinant factor promoting high quality of counseling.
For example, A district office rearranged its counseling atmosphere: after counselors receive job-seekers' registrations they offer counseling with unemployed women in different place. This is positively evaluated as providing a comfortable atmosphere by counselors, unemployed women and even monitoring surveyors.
Accordingly, along with increasing counseling time per unemployed woman to carry out sufficient counseling, counseling sections should be separated from other sections in the office, and the atmosphere should be changed to conduct face-to-face counseling.
The government's "Work-net" should be expanded immediately to Working Women's House and other unpaid NGOs.
On September 30, 1998, a total number of 306 offices participated in the "work-net". Offices in the area of Seoul are connected. It also cover the Kangwon Province. This means that unemployed women who register as job seekers in any office in Seoul and Kangwon region will register in the computerized job network simultaneously.
Recently, the government promotes a work-net project. This is to provide speedy and various job-related information, to encourage people to find more pleasant jobs with better working conditions, and to provide the newly-entering labor force with information on promising jobs, job counseling and training. Its original scheme is to set up comprehensive database of jobs and industrial labor force, to modernize computerized networking related to employment, and to establish communication system on screen in order to systemize job placement according to categories of job seekers and to update systems for counselors and employment-related offices. It also plans to establish the partnership with education institutions and unpaid temporary agencies for more substantial employment information.
Results of the monitoring show that almost all job officers in public employment offices agree with the necessity for networking with unpaid temporary agencies, especially with offices with a low level of available specialities available and who have just started job placement services. However, they usually reply that they do not have the time to form and maintain networks with unpaid temporary agencies. Additionally, different evaluations on networking with unpaid temporary agencies are made between related officers.
Under the current economic crisis, it is necessary to create computerized job networks between the government and NGOs. Job information must be shared to facilitate job placement, and to improve the qualities of counselors through a variety of job information. It also is important to promote effective development of softwares based on sharing information and experiences in the workplace. In the government's "Work-net" project, its network should be expanded to Working Women's House and unpaid temporary agencies.
In addition, job related staff between public employment offices and unpaid temporary agencies should have immediate and regular meetings to share job information and update training prior to the establishment of the computerized network. National employment offices whose experiences and expertise have been accumulated more substantially, should take an active lead in the establishment and implementation of the project.
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