Fewer Jobs at Korea's Top 500 Firms?

Korea's top 500 companies are expected to cut new job openings by five percent next year.

The outlook for pharmaceutical, financial, and electronics companies is looking cloudy, while sunshine can be expected for petrochemical, textile, clothing, and trade companies.

Job shortages expected to be worse than this year ?

According to the December 3 ?007 Top 500 Companies Job Forecast?released by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and JobKorea, a recruiting company, Korea's top 500 companies are expected to hire 49,602 new employees next year.

This is 5.1 percent fewer than this year's estimate, 52,123.

Among the 500 companies, 57.8 percent replied that they had plans for employment for next year, while 13.7 percent said they had no such plans.

As much as 28.5 percent replied they were unable to decide the recruitment scale for next year due to next year's economic prospects still being uncertain.

The petrochemical field is looking the brightest, with firms saying their employment quota will increase by 18.8 percent. Textile and clothing firms (7.4 percent), trading companies (7.3 percent) and automobile firms (4.3 percent) are also increasing their recruitment efforts.

The industry that is showing the largest decrease in employment is the pharmaceutical field with a decrease rate of 12.5 percent. Financial and insurance firms (-8.9 percent) and electronics firms (-8.6 percent) are also expected to make employment cuts.

Head Jeon Moo of the KCCI Labor and Management team said, 밫hree out of ten companies haven뭪 decided their employment plans yet, so if the economic recession continues, employment could decrease further.?

Businesses replied that they count 밿nspiration in the applicants?(35.7 percent) to be the most important when choosing employees. Other qualifications businesses looked for were 밼ield of major?(30.8 percent), 밷usiness-related experience?(15.1 percent), 밼oreign language skills?(12.0 percent), and 밹ertificates of qualification in related fields?(6.4 percent).

Regarding the factors businesses should be equipped with in order to attract qualified individuals, over half of the companies (58.4 percent) replied, 뱎roviding a future in the field.?Other factors were 밹ompensation?(14.8 percent), 뱂ob stability?(14.8 percent), and 밷enefits?(10.1 percent).

Businesses replied that in the fight against youth unemployment, 밻ncouraging investment by government deregulation?(25.7 percent) was the most effective strategy. 밅reating more jobs in society?(25.2 percent), 밻xpanding corporate investment?(23.8 percent), and 밷usiness-customized education and job training?(21.5 percent) followed.

buddy@donga.com