Number Of Blue-collar Workers Fall By Most In Feb

The number of blue-collar workers and day laborers in South Korea declined by the steepest pace in February due to the restructuring of the troubled shipbuilding sector and seasonal factors, data showed Tuesday.

SEJONG, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Mar, 2018 ) :The number of blue-collar workers and day laborers in South Korea declined by the steepest pace in February due to the restructuring of the troubled shipbuilding sector and seasonal factors, data showed Tuesday.

According to the data from Statistics Korea, those workers numbered 8,685,000 as of February, down 153,000 from the same month a year earlier. It marks the largest on-year decrease since the state statistical agency started to compile related data in January 2013.

After switching to an upturn in February last year, the number of blue-collar workers and day workers had been increasing by around 60,000 per month before the growth pace dropped to some 19,000 in December and January this year.

February's sharp drop was attributed to massive layoffs by the country's troubled shipyards. The number of workers employed by the shipbuilding and other manufacturing sectors gained by 14,000 last month, compared with an increase of 106,000 the previous month.

Also responsible was the unusual cold spell that lasted till February, and the implementation of the new minimum wage. The government raised the minimum wage by 16.4 percent to 7,530 won (US$7.02) on Jan 1 this year, the biggest jump in nearly two decades.

Analysts predicted the number of blue-collar workers and day laborers to decline for the time being due to GM Korea's shutdown of its plant in Gunsan on the west coast and the restructuring of shipyards.