Jeju’s employment rate is the highest in the nation. But a closer look shows that a high percentage of the workers here are daily laborers, while most jobseekers in Jeju say they would prefer to work in the public sector. Lee Hee-jung joins me in the studio with the details.
68.2%

That’s the percentage of workers in Jeju over the age of 15... who work more than one hour a week. It’s close to 70 percent and it’s the highest employment rate in Korea.

Jeju’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, stands at the lowest level in the nation.

A quick glance at these figures makes Jeju seem like the ideal place for employment.

But a closer look reveals that the percentage of people contracted to work for over a year and who have retirement benefits in Jeju is only 36.2 percent. That’s the second lowest rate in the country.

And those that are hired to work on either a daily or monthly basis stands at a nationwide high of 8.2 percent.

The job market in Jeju is currently too focused on quantity over quality, causing an imbalance… according to the National Statistical Office.

INTERVIEW
Baek Man-ki / Honam National Statistical Office
We looked into the specific ways people perceived employment in Jeju in order to understand the quality of the job market.
<인터뷰:백만기/호남지방통계청장>
"고용의 질적인 부분을 들여다볼 수 있도록 하기 위해 도민들의
일자리에 대한 인식을 세세하게 파악해서 분석하는데 노력했습니다."

The NSO report also shows that there is a big disparity between the hopes of job seekers and employers. While many jobs were open in wholesale and retail industries, most job seekers prefered to work the sectors of public administration, education and health and welfare.

And while the expected starting salary stood at 2.5 million won… only 7.5 percent of the businesses in Jeju actually paid that much to new employees.

Here’s an excerpt from an interview conducted earlier with the NSO.

INTERVIEW
Heo Su-hee / Honam National Statistical Office
Young jobseekers want to work in public administration, education, and the health service industries. But the actual jobs that are available are mostly in wholesale and retail, food and beverage, and accommodation.
<인터뷰:허수희/호남지방통계청 조사관>
"청년층이 희망하는 업종은 공공행정, 교육과 보건 서비스 쪽입니다.
실제 구인업체에서 채용하고자 하는 업종은 도소매업과 음식숙박업
쪽으로 나타나서 일자리 부분에서 미스매치가 나타나고 있습니다."

The results are based on a survey conducted last July on over 5,000 workers in Jeju about their perspective on the job market here.

[REPORTER]
Lee Hee-jung

It shows that a large gap remains between those looking for employment and the actual jobs available here in Jeju.