South Korea: towards a ‘new deal’ for employment

South Korea distinguished itself by implementing from 01 March innovative and resolute measures in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, which have enabled it to rapidly stem any wider spread of the virus. The country is now paying the price of being highly dependent on international trade alongside weak domestic consumption, despite having been able to avoid strict lockdown measures.
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According to the latest official employment figures released on 13 May, unemployment, according to the strictest definition, reached 4.2% of the active population in April. However the labor underutilization indicator (supplementary index III), saw underemployment in April reach a record 14.9% of the active population, and even as high as 26.6% among the 15-29 year old cohort. This means that 4.42 million people out of a total working population of 29.68 million, or one in seven workers, are no

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