Many women workers in unorganized small companies are being laid-off and they have not received their backwages, Since many of these women workers are heads of their families, they face extremely difficult situations.. On June 9, 1998, the Action Center for Women's Unemployment and five(5) regional branches in Seoul, Inchon, Pusan, Kwangju and Ansan were established as an annex to KWWAU in order to publicize the seriousness in women' unemployment and to encourage the government to make pro-active policies for women workers.

These Action Centers for Women's Unemployment provide practical assistance to women workers, through a variety of programmes such as job counselling, information provision, training, surveying activities, and medical assistance. I would like to look for future directions by examining the activities of our centers over the last three months.

1. Announcing the 'job seeker registration campaign'

   "What is a job seeker registration ?"
   "Does the Ministry of Labour receive job seeker registrations ?"

   Women seldom know that the Ministry of Labor, labour banks, and all district offices receive registrations for job seekers. Amongst the job seekers who visited the Action Center for Women's Unemployment in June, only 11% had been registered as job applicants at their district office.

   Although unemployment is a hot issue across Korea, women are not classified as "unemployed." They are often considered as those who simply give up finding jobs and as part of the economically inactive population. Thus, offficial statistics show that the women's unemployment rate is lower than those of men.

   However, women's jobs are decreasing faster across all sectors, relative to those of men (while in July 1998 the employment rate amongst men decreased by 5.3%, women's unemployment rate decreased by 8.2%. Amongst the economically active population, the male unemployment rate increased by 11%, but the female unemployment rate decreased by 4%). This disparity between official statistics and the current unemployment situation makes it extremely difficult to grasp detailed situations and women's unemployment trends.

   We believe that unofficial statistics should be dramatically changed. Therefore, we launched a registration campaign of women's job seekers, to push the government to establish and carry-out systematical policies for preventing women's unemployment. The campaign will encourage the government to provide proper public works for women which are supported by the government for a short term. In this sense, women job-seekers and jobless women will be more encouraged to survive the unemployment crisis with stronger wills.

2. Organizing rallies for women workers' job security and demanding the government to establish women's unemployment prevention

   "Set up active policies for maintaining employment."
   "I feel very stuffy, after I have been unemployed for several months."
   "The government should establish and integrate long-term, stable employment measures."

   Last Augst 18, 200 women held a rally in front of the headquarter of the ruling party for 'employment security for women workers and called for measures for unemployed women.'

   By organizing these street rallies once a month, the Action Centers for Women's Unemployment are demanding that the government establish women's unemployment measures with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions(Announcing the 'job seeker registration campaign'FKTU), Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU), Universities' Coalition for Obtaining Women's Rights to Work.

   We also are pushing the government to implement practical policies, publicize issues related to unemployment amongst women, and respond pro-actively to recent issues and problems. Recently, the government started to implement measures for unemployed women, establishing talks with jobless women, providing jobs suitable for women at the second level of public works, and setting up job training courses for unemployed women householders. These changes in the government' attitudes were brought about by our active and strong activities.

3. Carrying out active counsellings with the women jobless
   1. Counselling

      "Please help me to get any job. I can do anything."
      "I feel very stuffy, after I have been unemployed for several months."

      These complaints are those often heard when unemployed women visit our centers. All of our Action Centers for Women's Unemployment which include 5 regional centers have taken a total of 1,312 counselling cases since our establishment in July.

      Unemployed people accounted for 45.9% (337 cases) of 735 cases in June and increased to 50.2% (294 cases) amongst 581 cases. This shows that a massive number of women have been laid-off, largely attributed to dismissals and back pays.

      Employment rate of housewives was 31.9% in July. Housewives are mostly women over the age of 40. Many housewives are looking for a job to help made ends meet due to unemployment of their husbands. However, it is difficult for them to find jobs because most companies require that women are under the age of 35.

      The newly unemployed experience the same problems, because lay-offs and dismissals are very prevalent amongst workers. In particular, female university graduates are put in more serious difficulties. Current employment tendency shows that 'young workers with education levels of high school matriculation who do not mind low wages without any bonus' are favored.

      Amongst them, jobless women householderss are on the most desperate edge. They constitute about 20% of the total number of the jobless (according to statistics collected by the headquarter of the Action Centers for Women's Unemployment.

      They are monthly tenants (Korea has yearly rental system. too), and their owners urge them to leave their accommodation because they have not been able to pay since they became unemployed. Most of jobless women householders, between the ages of the late 30s and the 50s, face difficulties in finding jobs. Practical policies by the government are urgently needed.

   2. Policy suggestion activities

      Job-seekers are abundant, but very few companies are looking to hire them. Most jobs available are in the retail sales industry for high-priced goods. These jobs are not stable enough for these applicants in practice.

      The Action Centers for Women's Unemployment demanded that the government follow regulations in terms of increasing the number of suitable jobs for women and detailed regulations for participants in the public work scheme: only unemployed people who experienced previous unemployment can join the scheme; they can apply for it three months after they become unemployed; participants in the program at the first level cannot join the second level public work program.

      After our demands, the government changed its polices so that jobs suitable for women such as 'workers for children from low-income family' and 'assistants for women's welfare' are developed, and participants in first-level public works are allowed to join the second-level program.

      In addition, unemployed women mostly believe that they cannot be not registered if they receive unemployment funds. Many are even not aware that the government receives registration forms at all. According to our analysis of employment counselling statistics given by the Action Centers for Women's Unemployment from June and July, 11 % (81 cases out of 735 counselling cases) got jobs in June and this percentage increased to 21 % (126 out of 586 cases) in July after carrying out the women's registration campaign.

   3. Meeting Days with job-seekers

      "I'll hike together this time. I feel very bored when I am alone at home."

      Many women express this sentiment after their unemployment becomes protracted. This occur more easily when they are alone than with when they are with others. Our Action Centers for Women's Unemployment carry out a variety of educationsal programmes under the name of 'a meeting day with job-seekers.' The first project, 'meeting of women householders' is conducted in every center.

      The Pusan Women's Association, one of our regional organization also carries out meetings with jobless unmarried women. We plan to establish meetings with all unemployed women as well as women householders.

   4. Medical assistance activity

      Unemployed women face diverse hardships. Among them, women householders are a group affected the most seriously. Their living circumstances are getting worse. They cannot take care of their health properly, so their families face worsening health problems as well.

      However, in regards to this issue, the government hardly does anything to support them. Our Women's Unemployment Prevention Centers perform health assistance programs with progressive medical practitioners' associations, for women householders and their families to maintain their health although it is still at the minimum level.

   5. Other information provision activity

      'What's that?' 'Is there something that the government can do for job seekers?'

      This is a common reply when I ask people if they know about public works. Very few job-seekers reply "Public work projects are for grammies. Aren't they?" Few applicants know what the 'temporary livelihood proctection project' is, which proves that the publicities involved do not function well.

      Unemployed women know little about the government policies on unemployment or how to apply for employment projects. Action Centers for Women's Unemployment provide various information such as vocational training, loans, and employment securities regarding how to apply for public works or the 'temporary livelihood project,' and how to reduce lunch fees for children at schools.

4. The government's policies for unemployed women should be reformed
   1. Affirmative policy-making and executive power should be strengthened for maintaining employment security.

      Since the establishment of the Action Centers for Women's Unemployment, the government announced that the coverage for employment security will be expanded from October. The government prepared policies for unemployed women such as subsidies for promoting employment for unemployed women, assistance funds for re-employment for jobless women householders, and some job provisions. But these are not sufficient.

      A much higher number of women workers are being fired from the jobs created by the government in the public sector. The government has decided to upgrade subsidies and assistance funds for maintaining employment through reforming the Employment Insurance Act. But it is doubtful how seriously the management can carry out reforms.

      A small amount of subsidies cannot easily achieve this because most capitalists regard restructuring as equivalent to employment restructuring. If massive lay-offs persist, the government's policies such as doles and vocational training programs will face limits. The dole system, public works, and job training programs should be adopted as additional, under the conditions of maximized employment.

   2. Adequate policies and measures should be set up for small and medium sized firms and irregular workers.

      62.7% of women workers are employed in small size whorkshops with four(4) workers. These women confront wage delays and unjust labor controls and are being laid-off under the pretext of restructuring. There are many unregistered workshops amongst these small size factories. The government should require them to registrate by providing benefits such as tax exemption and special protection for small size workshop to ensure that employment insurance is properly given.

   3. The government should prepare long-term, secure and comprehensive unemployment measures.

      The working class has many, many concerns and worries, even though they can join the scheme of public works. Public works only ensure employment for four months at the most. It is not a long-term and secure job alternative. The scheme of public works should be reformed to provide long-term employment for those who can not find jobs.

On March 20th, the Japanese multinational enterprise, Korea Omuron Electronics Company took over Dong Hae (a labor union established in 1989, located at Kuro-No 3 industrial complex area).

Afte Korea Omuron Electronics Company took over and President Chae Chul took office, the company carried out previous plans to enforce the reduction of employee bonuses and to dissolve the existing labor union. In order to carry out these actions, the company demanded that workers sign a new employee contract which stipulated the revised terms of employment. The chairperson of Dong Hae and eight other workers refused to sign the contract.

The company immediately fired these nine workers. Dong Hae called the company's actions a violation of the labor law. They began striking all night to protest the company's unfair dismissals and to convince the company to rehire the nine dismissed workers. Two months later, the strikers continue to protest.

• Multinational enterprises which do not guarantee the continuation of employment and the labor union

  Korea Omuron Electronics only took over that which had commercial value. They preserved the existing machine equipment such as the provision installation line, which produces relay units. They also continued to supply their products to Hyundai motors.

  However, since Korea Omuron Electronics disguised the transferable take over of the business as a property assets sales contract, they were not required to guarantee the continuation of employment for existing workers or the independent trade union.

  Thus, when they took over operations, they insisted that workers agree to their labor policies by signing a new employee contract. All those who refused were terminated. To fight the company's unfair dismissals, the union members continue to work together, even though they they cannot predict when they will be taken way from the union office and thrown out into streets.

  So far, due to the company's manipulative intervention, one union official was dragged out by her parents during the strike. Since the company is guarding the union office, the union members find it impossible to communicate effectively with the office.

  Thus, it is difficult for union members to reach each other. Presently, there are only 6 persons left striking. They are all union officials and they are all women.

  In order to resolve the situation, the trade union has requested to negotiate with management several times. However, Korea Omuron Market said they are not legally responsible, thus they are not in a position to accede to negotiation until the Dstrict Labor Relations Board makes a decision.

  Under such difficult conditions, there is nothing else left to do but continue fighting. They have waged a morning propaganda advertising campaign, a protest rally in front of the house of the president of the company, a rally of the agencies, a protest rally of the Ministry of Labor, an eggs-throwing protest, and fights through tonsure of the chairman, burning at the stake, stakes etc.

• An example of collapsing small and medium enterprises in the IMF era

  Nearly 2 months has passed since we started the fight against Korea Omuron Electronics which was ignited with the anger of just 6 people who knew how to fight. In the beginning, I reproached those union members who did not join in the fight of the trade union.

  I was angry, but I realized that I should not waste precious energy and effort on such personal matters. When larger companies take over smaller companies, job security for workers must be guaranteed by the law. Dong Hae is a good example of how small & medium enterprises collapse and become the hunting target of foreign multinationals under the current IMF political situation.

  There must be a re-examination of the inhumane oppression by multinationals and the hostile enforcement of ordinance and legislative bills which permits M&A to abuse and eat up all of our money market, banking, and finance enterprises along with the general economy at cheap prices. The abusive actions of multinationals drive workers out into the cold streets and leave them with no means to support themselves.

  Also, the unlawful and expediential dismissal of employees after company take-overs should be stopped and workers must be guaranteed stable employment. I cannot give up so easily in this struggle. I feel a sense of responsibility. There should not be another Sam Mi special steel case. Every day I tie my head band tightly and continue to fight.

• Never-ending fight , fight

  Every single day, local comrades have organized support visits and groups of defenders. Their passionate comrade spirit has helped support our fight. Throughout the two months of our all-night strike, we have not given up this exhausting fight.

  Our Dong Hae trade union defenders' fight will be the model solidarity fight. In an attempt to win over other union members, the company has used distorted propaganda telling other workers that the trade union's actions will threaten the company's economic health.

  They have also threatened workers by contacting workers' parents at home. However, we will not submit to the company's threats and unjust tactics. We continue to endure the struggle. Although the fight at the moment is difficult and lonely, rather than compromising, we are going to fulfill our demands through our workers' pride and strong will. Our demands are pure and imminent. We are fighting 'till the day we can go back to the site and work together with the members.

The countermeasures which the government is promoting to ameliorate rising unemployment are all short-term and inefficable. Therefore, those countermeasures are viewed negatively by society.

Since the unemployment policy largely fails to reach the needs of women workers, the situation is all the more serious. The unemployment policy is merely a means of getting a grip on the situation. Moreover, it is based on inaccurate information and is overly optimistic.

Since the government is not sufficiently aware of the reality of the situation, the government's policy is impractical. It is also based on a family-wage ideology, an anti-democratic decision-making process and an insufficient budget.

The government's countermeasures can be discussed in two ways. First, a lack of knowledge exists about the situation of unemployed women workers due to the patriarchical and male-centered sexist character of the unemployment policy. Second, the government's countermeasures are short-termed both in its planning and its enforcement.

• The patriarchal characteristic of the countermeasures.
  1. The policy is based on a conven- tional gendered division of labor

     The unemployment policy which is being promoted by the government is based on a gendered division of labor. Since the man is perceived as the sole family supporter and the woman is viewed as the homemaker, no remedies exist for women workers even though they are suffering from massive dismissals and from severe uncertainty regarding their futures.

     In order to prevent social instability and riots, the government is reducing the unemployment rate and aiming to stabilize the unemployment rate at 5%. To do this, the government is using women's labor as the safety valve.

     The Korea Labor Research Institute recently explained that in this current economic crisis unemployed workers who stop searching for work become part of the non-economic population. Hence, they serve as shock absorbers in the labor market.

     This ensures that the unemployment level does not increase too rapidly. These "disappointed workers" constitute around 40% of the non-economic population. In addition, most of the persons in this category are women. Without women workers in the labor market, the total unemployment level would increase more drastically. In the end the unemployment policy becomes a means of restricting women workers to the non-economic population.

  2. Male-centered countermeasures

     The employment trend of the last two quarters of 1997 shows that women are more adversely affected by the economic crisis. In this period, the total number of unemployed persons was 550,000.

     During the same period in 1996 there was a 33% increase. The unemployment level of men has increased by 20.8% whereas for women it has increased by 60.6%. This shows that the increase in the number of unemployed women is much higher than the number of unemployed men.

     However, the government's efforts to create jobs is focused on creating more job opportunities for men. In addition, unemployment insurance is also limited to men. The most enforced countermeasure proposed by the government is the allowance or the unemployment system; however, this only reaches a small minority of the total unemployed women worker population.

     Also, the unemployment countermeasures are based on the premise that there should be only one male family supporter in each family. However, this countermeasure model can exist only in countries like Germany, France and other countries where social security networks are fully equipped.

• Short-term and unreliable policy

  The biggest problem of the government's countermeasures is that the policy does not address the long run. Despite the need for countermeasures which prevent unjust dismissals and reduce the number of work hours, the government's policy is based on principles that promote the flexibility of the labor market.

  Hence, it fails to stop companies from continually contracting their workforces. In addition, because the unemployment policy has been in effect for less than a year, it is uncertain whether the government's policy can resolve the current unemployment situation, since this crisis is projected to to continue for the next three to four years.

  The government's unemployment countermeasures also lack sufficient financial resources and the outlook of financial resources seems thin. On March 26th, the total financial resources were set at 7 trillion 900 billion won.

  Among this, a general financial performance fee was included which amounted to 26 billion 600 million won, but it still only amounts to 3.3% of the total financial resources. In comparison to the 40 trillion won invested in organising illegal loans and the 10 trillion won allotted to rescue enterprises by the government, the financial resources for unemployment policies are very low. In addition, because the outlook of any future financial help is also low, it is questionable whether those unemployed 1,000,000 persons will be able to obtain any help at all.

  Also, the estimated resources allocated to help enterprises retrain employees and ease unemployment effects are meager. The estimated amount allocated to help ease unemployment effects is only 600 billion won out of 5 trillion 2 billion 100 million won, with the candidates reaching a mere 400,000. In order to help the unemployed, it is necessary for the government to create jobs. Currently, the government has promised to create about 150,000-200,000 jobs.

  However, many of the new jobs created by the government are low wage jobs with low living payments. They include cleaning the environment, tending green forests, recycling, organizing resources, and renumerating public facilities, which last about 2 to 8 months. In addition, the government's expenditure on the minimum costs of living for low wage earners is very low. Thus, their plan to offer stable jobs for the 120,000 unemployed is considered ineffective. New jobs for unemployed married women are even more bleak.

• Countermeasures to unemployment

  What is the most suitable countermeasure regarding the current economic crisis that we are facing? The political measures should give priority to a 'protection policy for the unemployed' and 'unemployment preventive measures' if they are to supplement the weaknesses of the government's unemployment policy and provide diverse policy measures with different views.

  1. Enforcement of preventive measures for unemployment and the expansion of the policy for protecting the unemployed

     Those who are in charge of formulating the policy should realize that it should be a policy which simultaneously protects the unemployed while preventing rising unemployment. Unemployment restraining policies which maintain the present state of employment should be enforced and at the same time protective measures for the unemployed must be expanded. In order to do this, the government must take strong actions to root out any unlawful and unfair dismissals.

     The government should also take strong action against the unfair dismissals of women workers, especially those which arise from sexual discrimination. Also, by initially shortening the work week to 40 hours per week and to 35 hours per week in the long run, the possibilities for creating new jobs and maintaining the employment rate should improve. The labor group has suggested that if real-working hours per year is reduced to 2000, we can expect 2,000,000 or more of jobs to be created by the year 2000.

     As for other countermeasures, the publicsector should expand social service facilities for maintaining employment and increasing employment opportunities. Also, active measures should be taken for maintaining the employment of women workers such as the formation of organizations fighting for equal employment rights (e.g. Equal Employment Opportunity Corporation, EEOC in US).

     In addition, national expenditures should support more opportunities for vacation and temporary work leaves both for women and men. And there should be countermeasures to help workers who work in a place of business where there are less than 5 workers and for workers who work temporarily (temporary, part-time, a day etc.) to make a living wage.

     It is also important not to leave out the expansion of funds for countermeasures for the unemployed (labor circle has made a request to the government's general account to secure 20 trillion cho won or more of their financial resources), the enforcement of effectual wage bond security fund or the introduction of an allowance aid funding system for the unemployed.

  2. Healing social illnesses brought about by the economic crisis

     Above all, a countermeasure scheme should attempt to solve related problems such as crimes, suicides, the increasing number of orphans, the separation and breakdown of families and other mental shocks.

     The word 'unemployment' connotes more than just 'it is tough making a living'. After the IMF control system was introduced, reports of various social illnesses appeared which reflect the realities of the economic crisis. The sudden increase in unemployment and in reports of illnesses have reached a serious level. In such times of economic crisis, an increase in unemployment makes female discrimination more open, more publicized and more blatant, which re-enforces the gendered division of labor. The feeling of loss due to losing one's job has increased incidents of sexual violence by men who assault their wives.

     Therefore, the government's unemployment policy should be an all-round countermeasure which embraces the maintenance and creation of employment, provides remedies and protective measures for the unemployed, and offers solutions to cure social illnesses.

The rapidly increasing number of unemployed workers following financial support from the IMF has become an immense social problem in Korea. The current unemployment situation has even been dubbed a "major crisis."

Statistics on unemployment announced by the government, however, are problematic because they fail to present accurate unemployment rates. In particular, current data on the unemployment of women is unknown, despite the fact that women are the most likely candidates for dismissal in the course of company structural admustment plans.

The failure to compile accurate unemployment statistics for women largely can be attributed to the family ideology which views the man as the breadwinner and the woman as his dependent.

In this article I will try to determine how financial support from the IMF has affected and changed the employment of women in Korea. Since the most recent employment and unemployment data (April 1998) is not yet available, this article does not include the most up-to-date information. However, KWWAU is continuing to conduct research on women's unemployment of women. The latest data will be included in my forthcoming studies.

1. The Decrease in the Economically Active Population

   Prior to financial support from the IMF, the economically active population had steadily increased. However, its growth rate started to slow down during the latter half of 1997, when the current economic crisis initially became visible.

   In November of the same year the economically active population decreased for the first time. From November 1997 to the present (February 1998), the rate has continued to drop.

   Since October 1997, the period before the IMF provided Korea with financial support, the rate of participation in economic activities has decreased to a paltry 59.2%. The number of employed persons, compared to the same period last year, has decreased by 1,033 persons.

   When we examine gender differentials in these statistics, we find that the number of employed men decreased by 205,000 persons while the number of employed women decreased by 827,000 persons during the same period. In other words, women constitute more than 80% of the total unemployed population (See Table 1).

   Table 1.

   (Unit: 1000 persons; %)

   	Economically Active Population			Employed Population			Rate of Participation in Economic Activities(%)
   Month/Year	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
   August 1997	21,773	12,860	8,913	21,308	12,563	8,745	62.6	76.1	49.8
   September 1997	21,779	12,830	8,949	21,310	12,530	8,780	62.5	75.8	49.9
   October 1997	21,793	12,826	8,967	21,341	12,536	8,805	62.5	75.7	50.0
   November 1997	21,762	12,840	8.922	21,188	12,473	8,715	62.3	75.6	49.7
   December 1997	21,340	12,719	8,620	20,682	12,299	8,383	61.0	74.8	47.9
   January 1998	20,645	12,577	8,068	19,711	11,959	7,752	58.9	73.9	44.8
   February 1998	20,760	12,621	8,140	19,526	11,801	7,725	59.2	74.0	45.2

   From Monthly Statistics of Korea, published by the National Statistics Office

   During the same period last year, the unemployed population increased by 722,000 persons in March 1998. Therefore, we find that the women's rate of participation in economic activities dropped from 49.3% in 1997 to 46.8% this year (See the April 27, 1998, issue of the daily Hankyoreh).

   Such a decrease may be attributed to the "disappointed laborer" effect,

   "Disappointed laborer"designates those individuals among the unemployed population who have given up trying to find employment based on the assumption that it is near impossible to find a job. Persons belonging to this category are difficult to classify as "unemployed" because they have voluntarily dropped out from the labor market and consequently are likely not to join the labor market once again, in spite of government policy to create employment opportunities. In such a case, the unemployment rate will not decrease and inflation may even rise, resulting in a total failure of the policy (Cho Song-hye, Current Data on the Unemployment of Women and Tasks for Employment Stabilization Policy, page 37; cited in the 2nd quarter, 1998, issue of Analysis of Current Labor Situation Per Quarter, published by the Korea Labor Institute).

   which means that, women who no longer have any employment opportunities due to the economic recession voluntarily drop out of the labor market.

   Such a decrease in the economically active population, however, is not expected to continue for a long time. When large scale corporate restructuring is implemented, the consequential dismissal of men, who are the major source of income for most families in Korea, will have serious repercussions on the economic status of many families. As a result, other family members who previously have never worked are likely to join the economically active population in order to sustain their families.

2. The Decrease in the Employed Population

   Although the employed population increased up until the latter half of 1996, the growth rate had visibly slowed down. It rose by a mere 1.4% in 1997. In December 1997, it decreased for the first time since September 1984.

   This year, the decrease in the employed population has become particularly severe, dropping by -3.4% in January when compared to the same period in 1997 (See page 16 of the 1st quarter, 1998, issue of Analysis of Current Labor Situation Per Quarter, published by the Korea Labor Institute).

   In February 1988 the employed population consisted of 19,526,000 persons (See Table 1). Since the period in which financial support from the IMF began, the employed population has decreased by 8.5%.

   The growth rate of employed women has drastically slowed down in comparison to that of men. When we compare the present statistics to those in October 1997, we see that the number of employed men fell by 5.8% whereas the number of employed women decreased by as much as 12%, which is almost double the figure for men. We can see from such statistics that the current economic crisis is having a far more adverse effect on women than on men.

   In the manufacturing industry the total employed population is significantly dropping, with its declining rate accelerating in January 1998 (See Table 2). The manufacturing industry can be divided into the light industry and the heavy chemical industry.

   The number of employed persons in the latter of the two industries, which had steadily increased over the past years, dropped for the first time in 1997. Much of the decreasing employment can be attributed to the increase in plant closures and bankruptcies.

   The financial crisis that Kia Motors and the Hanbo Group experienced last year resulted in massive bankruptcies for many related companies in the heavy chemical industry. As a result, the total number of workers in this industry, which amounted to 2,416 persons in 1996, dwindled to 2,361 in 1997, representing a -2.3% change.

   Table 2. The Currently Employed Population Per Industry

   (Unit: 1000persons; %)

   	Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry	Mining		Social Infrastructure and Other Service Industries
   			Manufacturing		Construction	Others
   1994	2 699	4 735	4 695	12 403	1 777	10 626
   1995	2 541	4 799	4 773	13 037	1 896	11 141
   1996	2 405	4 701	4 677	13 657	1 968	11 689
   1997	2 324	4 501	4 474	14 223	2 004	12 219
   1997 10	2 557	4 456	4 427	14 328	2 058	12 270
   11	2 306	4 497	4 471	14 385	2 026	12 359
   12	1 917	4 433	4 409	14 332	1 966	12 366
   1998 1	1 856	4 219	4 196	13 637	1 761	11 876

   From the April 1998, issue of Monthly Statistics of Korea, published by the National Statistics Office

   In addition, the growth rate of the employed population in the social infrastructure and the service

   industries, two fields that have expanded over the years, slowed down in 1997.

   In January 1998, it decreased for the first time. Within the service industry, the growth rate of retail and wholesale businesses, the lodging industry, the catering industry, and the construction industry slowed down significantly in comparison to the previous year due to the continuing economic recession; general businesses, personal services, and public services, on the other hand, showed a considerable growth rate (See page 14 of the 1st quarter, 1998, issue of Analysis of Current Labor Situation Per Quarter, published by the Korea Labor Institute).

   Another noteworthy phenomenon that has occurred following financial support from the IMF is the increasing growth rates in the employed population in the agriculture, fishery and forestry fields.

   Until February 1988, the number of workers in the employed population in these sectors had been steadily decreasing. However, in March 1998 this number increased by 369,000 persons in comparison to the previous month, totaling 2,344,000 persons.

   This increase has continued into April with a total of 2,673,000 persons currently working in these fields. This 8.8% rise in participation in April in comparison to the same period last year represents a significant increase.

   This increase may be attributed to the rising number of persons who wish to return to the provinces as well as the number of unemployed persons who actually return to their provincial homes. Among all industries, agriculture, fishery, and forestry represent the only fields to witness a rise in the employed population (See the April 27, 1998, and May 23, 1998, issues of the Hankyoreh).

3. The Increase in the Unemployed Population

   Due to the fact that the total number of persons not participating in economic activities has increased and the total number of persons participating in economic activities has drastically decreased following financial support from the IMF, the unemployed population

   According to unemployment surveys conducted by the National Statistics Office, "unemployment" designates those individuals who have no remunerative work whatsoever during the period that the surveys are conducted.

   The following individuals are included: immediately employable persons who are actively seeking work; persons who, although they were able to do so in the past, have been unable to seek work actively due to inevitable reasons such as adverse weather, delayed confirmation of new employment, temporary illness, and preparation for self-employment.

   In addition, the "unemployed" category encompasses the following individuals: persons who have worked for over 1 hour for profit; family members who, although themselves without work or economic gain, have assisted in raising the profits work or companies of their own, have been unable to work and thus have been temporarily jobless during the survey period due to reasons such as temporary illness, adverse weather, leaves of any length, or labor strikes (See Kim Pyong-suk, Women's Strategies for Employment in an Era of Massive Unemployment, page 3).

   continues to rise. This may be attributed to the slowdown in the overall ability of the national economy to absorb potential employees, as exemplified by the increasing number of business closures and bankruptcies due to economic crisis and by the considerable decrease in new employment opportunities due to the retrenchment policies of various companies.

   As of March 1998, the unemployed population exceeded 1,300,000 persons (1,378,000 persons, to be exact). In April, the total number of unemployed persons amounted to 1,434,000, which constituted an all-time high. This statistic represents an increase of 60,000 persons when compared to the figure for the previous month. This means that 3,000 persons per day on an average have been their losing jobs.

   However, when we take into consideration the growing rate of those who are unstably employed, the anxiety felt by the general public over potential unemployment actually is far higher than the 3,000 persons cited above.

   The unemployment rate has risen to 6.7%, which is a 0.2% increase when compared to the figure for March 1998. The current rate is an all-time high since February 1986, which was exactly 12 years and 2 months ago. (See the May 23, 1998, issue of the Hankyoreh).

   After 1980 the unemployment growth rate steadily decreased, only to start increasing in 1997. In November and December 1997, the unemployment rate rose by 0.5%, respectively, when compared to previous months. In January and February 1998, the respective growth rates increased to 1.4% which shows that the total number of unemployed persons has risen drastically following the financial support form the IMF.

   Although the growth rate slowed down somewhat in March and April when compared to January and February, a dramatic rise in unemployment is expected to become far more pronounced starting in June 1998, when massive corporate restructuring is scheduled to take place (See Table 3).

   Along gender lines, the unemployment rate of women increased by 3.3% when compared to the figure for October 1997 whereas the unemployment rate of men increased by 4.2% during the same period. The growth rate of women's unemployment slowed down in March 1998, which may be attributed to the fact that married women have given up trying to find a new job.

   The actual number of women who wish to be employed is expected to far surpass government statistics. This is because, as has already been mentioned above, many women, as disappointed laborers, belong to the category of persons not participating in economic activities.

   According to the April 17, 1998, issue of the Hasnkyoreh, women make up 81% of the total number of persons not participating in economic activities as of March 1998.

   Table 3. The Unemployed Population and the Current Rate of Unemployment

   (Unit: 1000 person; %)

   	Total	Male	Female
   1997 8	465(2.1)	297(2.3)	168(1.9)
   9	469(2.2)	300(2.3)	169(1.9)
   10	452(2.1)	290(2.3)	161(1.8)
   11	574(2.6)	367(2.9)	207(2.3)
   12	658(3.1)	420(3.3)	238(2.8)
   1998 1	934(4.5)	617(4.9)	317(3.9)
   2	1,235(5.9)	820(6.5)	415(5.1)
   3*1	1,378(6.5)	(7.3)	(5.2)
   4*2	1,434(6.7)

   From the April 1998, issue of monthly Statistics of Korea, published by the National Statistics Office

   *1: See the April 27, 1998, issue of the Hankyoreh

   *2:: See the May 23,, 1998, issue of the Hankyor

   In 1992, 11.4 times more persons who wished to find jobs yet were not actively seeking work existed than completely jobless persons. When the former group is included in the calculation, the total unemployment rate surpasses 20% (See Cho Soon-kyung,

   The IMF Conditions and the Employment of Women, page 3). This year, in particular, even more of the work force is assumed to belong to the category of disappointed laborers when compared to the situation in 1992, due to the overall confusion brought about by the continuing economic recession, massive unemployment, and the severe difficulty in finding jobs.

   When we take into consideration the fact that a majority of these disappointed laborers are women, the percentage of women among the total unemployed population is expected to be far greater than the figure for 1992.

   According to the Ministry of Labor's current analysis of the disbursement of the unemployment benefit, the total number of persons who are involuntarily unemployed has increased drastically following the financial support from the IMF.

   The daily average of new recipients of the unemployment benefit was 65 persons in 1996. This figure increased to 292 persons in December 1997. In January 1998, the number skyrocketed to 931 persons, which is over 14 times the figure for the pre-IMF support year of 1996 (See Table 4)

   Table 4. New Recipients of the Unemployment Benefit per Type of Unemployment (Average Per Day)

   (Unit: 1person; %)

   	1996. 7-12.	1997. 1-11.	1997. 12.	1998. 1.
   Total	65(100)	158(100)	292(100)	931(100)
   Closure, Bankruptcy	16( 24.6)	45( 28.5)	72( 24.7)	205( 22.0)
   Retirement due to Business Reasons or Employer's Recommendation	34( 52.3)	66( 41.8)	153( 52.4)	551( 59.2)
   Retirement due to Age Limit	8( 12.3)	19( 12.0)	15( 5.1)	81( 8.7)
   Voluntary Retirement	2( 3.1)	4( 2.5)	11( 3.8)	16( 1.7)
   Others	6( 9.2)	24( 15.2)	41( 14.0)	77( 8.3)

   From page 21, the 1st quarter, 1998, issue of Analysis of Current Labor Situation Per Quarter, published by the Korea Labor Institute

   Table 5. New Recipients of the Unemployment Benefit Resulting from retirement due to Business Reasons or Employer's Recommendation(Average Per Day)

   (Unit:1person;%)

   	1996. 7-12.	1997. 1-11.	1997. 12.	1998. 1.
   Total	34(100.0)	66(100.0)	153(100.0)	551(100.0)
   Fewer than 30 persons	1( 2.1)	2( 3.0)	6( 3.9)	16( 2.9)
   30-299 persons	14( 40.2)	31( 47.0)	72( 47.1)	327( 59.3)
   More than 300 persons	19( 57.8)	33( 50.0)	75( 49.0)	209( 37.9)

   From page 21, the 1st quarter, 1998, issue of Analysis of Current Labor Situation Per Quarter, published by the Korea Labor Institute

   In addition, retirement by recommendation occurs far more often in the case of small and medium companies rather than in the case of conglomerates, which employ a considerable number of work force. (See Table 5)

   If we classify various firms as "small and medium companies" or "conglomerates" with 300 laborers as the dividing line (300 and fewer or 300 and more), laborers who retired on recommendation took up 42.3% of the total unemployed population in the case of small medium companies in 1996, whereas the same figure increased to 50.0% in January - November 1997 and 62.2% in January 1988.

   This drastic increase is due to the fact that, until now, employment adjustments have occurred mainly among small and medium companies and needy businesses. With the in-depth implementation of restructuring among conglomerates and banks in June 1998, however, the unemployment crisis is expected to spill over to huge corporations as well.

   Up until the first half of 1997, the categories of persons affected by employment adjustment consisted mainly of high school graduates and lower in terms of educational level as well as 40 and above in terms of age.

   Due to the business closures and bankruptcies of many companies, however, white-collar office workers have come to be the included among the targets of employment adjustment as well. As a result, the number of highly educated jobless persons in their 20's and 30's has been increasing (See Table 6). As of April 1998, those who previously held jobs amounted to 1,322,000 persons (See the May 23, 1998, issue of the Hankyoreh).

   However, because conglomerates are resisting the employment of new workers, the total number of newly unemployed individuals is expected to continue increasing. In particular, there is a high likelihood of a rise in the rate of new unemployment among university and college graduates.

   If college graduates consequently lower their expectations in selecting jobs, the employment crisis among those with lower educational levels is expected to become even more drastic.

   Table 6. New Recipients of the Unemployment Benefit Per Age and Educational Level

   (Unit : 1 person ,%)

   	1996. 7-12.	1997. 1-11.	1997. 12.	1998. 1.
   Total	34(100.0)	66(100.0)	153(100.0)	551(100.0)
   Below29	1( 2.9)	4( 6.1)	15( 9.8)	62( 13.8)
   30-39	6( 17.6)	16( 24.2)	35( 22.9)	127( 28.3)
   40-49	14( 38.2)	22( 33.3)	51( 33.3)	136( 30.3)
   above50	14( 38.2)	25( 37.9)	52( 34.0)	124( 27.6)
   Intermediate School Gradute and Below	12( 35.3)	21( 31.8)	51( 33.3)	162( 29.4)
   High School Graduate	16( 47.1)	29( 43.9)	62( 40.5)	219( 39.7)
   College/University Graduate and Above	6(17.6)	16( 24.2)	40( 26.1)	170( 30.9)

   From page 21, the 1st quarter, 1998, issue of Analysis of Current Labor Situation Per Quarter, published by the Korea Labor Institute