Number of Part-Time Workers Rises to 5-Year High
The number of part-time workers who work less than 17 hours a week has reached the highest level in five years.
According to Statistics Korea on Monday, 1.34 million people worked between one and 17 hours a week in the third quarter, up 91,000 workers compared to the same period last year. It was the highest quarterly figure since the third quarter of 2011.
Working less than 17 hours a week boils down to just two to three hours of work a day or two or four days a week. The number of such workers has grown much faster than that of regular workers.
Employment grew 1.2 percent in the third quarter, but the number of part-time workers increased 7.2 percent.
The trend is largely due to government efforts to get businesses to offer flexible working hours to boost the number of women in the workforce. Also, manufacturers have hired more part-time staff to cut back on payroll costs amid a slow economy.
The number of part-time workers also surged after the Asian financial crisis and the global financial crisis.
Source from :Hancinema