• 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.

• Economic Analysis
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.43-71
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• 2020

This paper aims to derive macroeconomic implications by analyzing the business cycle characteristics of the youth unemployment. The results of empirical analysis seem to show that youth unemployment appears to be relatively less correlated with business cycle compared to other age groups, and thus it is difficult to explain the recent steady increase in the potential labor force as a result of the business cycle fluctuation alone. Moreover, the alternative unemployment measures of the youth group showing upward trend were estimated to be co-integrated with output measures. This co-integrated trend increase suggests that unlike other age groups, youth may be influenced by structural factors inherent in Korea's economic growth path. The fact that the wage difference based on firm size has widened steadily since the Asian financial crisis and that the proportion of large companies that provide relatively high-quality jobs compared to major industrialized countries is significantly lower may be the evidence of the structural changes in Korean youth labor market. The results of above analysis may explain why the job search periods for youth has lengthened amid these structural changes.