South Korea will continue efforts to address the "imbalance" in the labor market behind robust job indicators by allowing more foreign workers and improving the working environment of small firms, the finance minister said Wednesday.
The remark came after Asia's No. 4 economy saw its unemployment rate hit a record low of 2.7 percent in June, and maintained on-year job additions for 28 consecutive months.
"Recently, job additions have been maintaining growth on the back of face-to-face services, information communication, and science sectors, along with more participation by women and seniors," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said.
Choo, however, noted that there is still an imbalance in the labor market among different sectors, with some areas finding it difficult to find workers.
To address the issue, the finance minister said the government will make efforts to fill in such "gaps" by inviting more skilled foreign workers while improving the working environment of small and medium-sized firms.
In line with such efforts, the country will expand the quota for E-7-4 visas issued to skilled workers to 35,000 in the second half of 2023, compared to the previous 5,000.
South Korea will also consider expanding the issuance of the number of E-9 visas, which are granted to non-skilled workers, and allow them to engage in a wider array of industries.
The government will also offer recruitment of competitive small and medium-sized firms to address their workforce shortages, he added.
Source: Yonhap News Agency