“25% Increase in Travel Industry Employment in Second Half of 2021: National Statistical Office”

25% increase in the second half of last year to 40,000
The number of non-store workers plummeted by 10,000

Last year, as the spread of Corona 19 slowed and social distancing measures were lifted, the number of employed in industries that enjoyed’corona special’ decreased, and the number of employed in industries that suffered from’corona recession’ rebounded again.

On the 24th, the National Statistical Office presented statistics on the number of employed by industry subcategory, counting the number of employed in the ‘travel agency and travel assistance service industry’ as 40,000 in the second half of last year. It increased from 32,000 in the second half of 2021 to 8,000 (25.0%) in one year.

The number of jobs related to the travel industry, which had been on the downhill since 2020 due to the spread of Corona 19, has returned to the increase in two years. As the number of travelers increased, the number of people employed in the general living and lodging industry also increased by 38,000 (32.2%) from 119,000 the previous year to 157,000. The number of people employed in the amusement park and entertainment-related service industry increased by 4,000 (3.5%), and the number of people employed in the air passenger transportation industry increased by 1,000 (3.0%).

As external activities increased, jobs in the restaurant industry also showed signs of recovery. As of the second half of last year, the number of people employed in pubs and non-alcoholic beverage stores was 479,000, up 71,000 (17.4%) from the same period last year. The number of people employed in the restaurant industry also increased by 43,000 (2.8%) from the previous year to 1,607,000.

Art-related fields such as movies and exhibitions, which had been cut off from the public, were also revived. In the second half of last year, the number of people employed in the production and distribution of film, video, and broadcasting programs was 98,000, an increase of 21,000 (27.8%) from last year. The number of people employed in creative and art-related service industries also surged by 17,000 (17.4%) to 116,000.

In some industries, employment has deteriorated due to a sharp drop in the number of corona19 confirmed cases. The number of non-store workers, which surged due to non-face-to-face communication, was 361,000 in the second half of last year, down 12,000 (3.2%) from the same period last year. The number of employed in the corrugated cardboard, paper box and paper container manufacturing industry, which enjoyed a boom due to the surge in delivered food and parcel delivery, decreased by 1,000 people (2.4%). The number of employed in the manufacturing of medical supplies and medicines was 12,000, down 2,000 (1.5%) in one year.

Reporter Sejong Lee Young-joon