• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.89-127
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• 2010

This paper explores the causes and solutions of the problem that the official unemployment rate does not adequately represent the reality of the employment situation in Korea. First, compared to ILO's international standards, there are several differences in the measurement of unemployment in Korea, for example, the treatment of unpaid family workers working less than 18 hours per week, the classification of persons who are waiting for a new job or temporarily laid-off, and the criteria of job search activities. The questionnaire structure of the Labor Force Survey in Korea also misleads the judgment of economic activity state. Comparing the responses of the basic survey to those of the supplementing survey, approximately 90% of the responses show discrepancies and this indicates the possibility of misclassification. Next, this paper suggests the extended unemployment indicators as alternative, based on the current survey. The extended unemployment indicators support the presence of significant amounts of hidden unemployed and underemployed. And, it is found that the analyses using those indicators are very useful for the investigation of many aspects of employment dynamics.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.53-68
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• 2018

This paper analyzes comparatively business performance indicators and determinants of small and medium sized shipping logistics companies in Korea, using 2015 economic census data. For this purpose, this study estimates various business performance indicators according to 2015 small and medium sized companies classification standards, including operating income to sales and gross value-added to sales. In addition, this study analyzes determinants of business performance using generalized least squares models. The results indicate that average sales, operating income and value-added, sales and operating income per worker, operating income to sales, and material cost to sales of large sized companies are higher than those of small and medium sized companies. The business performance indicators differ by industry and size. Moreover, the determinants of business performance are analyzed in terms of the unemployment rate (-), number of employees (-), sales (+), labor cost ratio (+), and labor cost per employee (-) and the impacts of the individual explanatory variables based on elasticity are different. Finally, this quantitative information could be used to improve the business performance of domestic shipping logistics companies.