This year, the number of people in the 30s to 40s who are at the back of the Korean economy is rapidly decreasing by an average of 140,000 per month.

In particular, as the decline in the number of employed workers in their 40s has expanded to the maximum level ever, the increase in the total number of workers aged 15 and older has shrunk to the smallest level since the global financial crisis.

As job shocks have been prolonged, the number of unemployed has exceeded one million for the longest since the financial crisis, and the long-term unemployed for six months or more have been even more dismayed.

According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Tuesday, the number of employed workers in the 30s and 40s decreased by 140,000 a month by July this year.

The number of those in their 40s decreased sharply from 39,000 to 30,000 in the 30s and 101,000 in their 40s. The decline in the number of employed workers in the 40s is the highest ever since the statistics compilation began in June 1999.

The decline in the number of people in their 40s has continued for 33 consecutive months since November 2015.

The average number of employees in their 40s decreased by 6,400 in 2015, 46,000 in 2016 and 44,000 in 2017,

From January to July this year, the total number of employees over the age of 15 has increased by an average of 122,300 people per month.

This is the lowest level since the global financial crisis shocked in the peak period of 2009, when the monthly average fell by 114,700.

The government has lowered its employment target, but it seems that it is not easy to achieve.

The government announced the direction of economic policy in the second half of this year, greatly lowering the 320,000 new employment target to 180,000.

This is only possible if the monthly number of employed workers increases by more than 260,000.

The number of unemployed people has exceeded one million for 7 months due to the prolonged sluggishness of job creation in the Korean economy, and the situation of mass unemployment has been the longest since the financial crisis.

In addition, the number of long-term unemployed workers with a job search period of 6 months or more stood at 144,000 per month, the highest level in 18 years since 2000.

The number of job-seekers who gave up their jobs due to job search activities reached a peak of 507,000 a month.

The number of non-economically active population is growing rapidly, but the number of non-economically active population in January ~ July has increased by 9,900 people per month.

An increase in the number of non-economically active people can lead to a deterioration in labor market vitality, deterioration in the perception of the economy, and adverse economic growth.

"The sharp decline in employment in the 30s and 40s, the main labor stratum in the Korean economy, is the largest after the restructuring of the shipbuilding industry and the automobile industry," said the chief economist of the Hyundai Economic Research Institute. "They are hardly able to enter self- "If you finally give up your job, it's a serious problem."

He added, "I am worried that a negative cycle of worsening domestic demand, deteriorating corporate performance, and harsh employment is causing concern as income-driven growth policies, such as a sharp increase in minimum wage, adversely affect self-employment."