SEOUL (Yonhap) _ As an indication of the protracted economic slump, nearly eight out of every 10 companies in South Korea are not planning to hire new employees for the rest of the year, said a poll released yesterday.
In a survey of 4,444 firms with over five employees by the Ministry of Labor in September, as many as 77.5 percent said they have no plans to employ new workers during the fourth quarter.
Only 22.5 percent, or 999 firms, revealed employment plans for the October-December period, while 66.2 percent ruled out any new hiring. The remaining 11.3 percent said they have yet to decide on whether to increase their workforce.
The share of local firms without recruiting plans marked the highest quarterly figure since the April-June period of 2002, pointing to a worsening outlook for job-seeking college and high school graduates, ministry officials said.
The portion of companies planning new hires has steadily declined over the past year, falling from a peak of 32.3 percent in the third quarter of 2002 to 29.2 percent in the first quarter, 27.2 percent in the second quarter and 23.6 percent in the third quarter of 2003.
In particular, the portion of firms with recruitment plans in the manufacturing sector dropped 2 percentage points from the previous quarter to 30.8 percent, reflecting the overall business downturn of late, officials said. Other sectors also reported deterioration, with entertainment, culture and sports businesses registering an 8-percent drop in the share of companies with hiring plans.
Meanwhile, the ministry-compiled business survey index for employment, a barometer of the future job market, fell to 105.1 for the fourth quarter of 2003, down from 111.5 a year ago. The employment BSI has declined from 114.2 in the second quarter of 2002 to 110.4 in the second quarter and 105.5 in the third quarter of this year.
``In a worrisome outcome, 77.5 percent of local businesses planning to recruit new workers in the fourth quarter cited the replacement of outgoing employees as the main reason,’’ said a ministry official. ``By contrast, merely 12.9 percent attributed new employment plans to sales growth, while 5.8 percent cited increased facility investments.’’
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