Work hour-based jobs are a necessity for Korea`s jobs market

It is not surprising these days to see women getting top scores at exams for entry into large companies or civil servant tests. Yet women`s labor force participation rate stands at just 49.9 percent, down 22.4 percentage points from male`s. Even if a woman is employed in the 20s, many stop working in the 30s or 40s due to household chores and childrearing. It is a loss for both individuals and the country if women can`t display their capability. The OECD last year released a report that said if women`s labor force participation rate is raised to the level of men in Korea that the GDP will rise 0.9 percentage points.

Amid worsening low birth rate and ageing, the use of female and senior people is becoming a necessity for the Korean economy to grow steadily. However, the reality is not encouraging. Korea`s annual average working hours are the longest in the world and people are forced to devote all their time to work or drop out. Companies have to retain the same number of workers and thus are reluctant to hire, leading to the rise in jobless rate.

The "2013 Restart Job Fair," jointly held by the Dong-A Ilbo, its cable channel Channel A and the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday and Sunday, had a purpose of encouraging reemployment of women with career discontinuity and middle to seniors who have retired. The event discussed ways to increase the number jobs based on work hours. More than 110 large companies, small to mid-sized companies, public institutions and government agencies joined the fair, with 35,000 job seekers flocking in.

Whether the Park Geun-hye administration can achieve its "70 percent employment" goal depends on jobs based on work hours. These jobs require 15-30 hours of working hours, but boasts of a stable employment and wage and welfare benefits are also the same as regular workers. Germany has vitalized this system to raise employment rate to 76.7 percent, and the employment rate of elderly people and women. In the Netherlands, this hour-based work accounts for half of employment helped by the law that bans discrimination based on working hours.

In Korea, some large companies including CJ, Shinsegae, SK and Industrial Bank of Korea have adopted the system, which is still in the initial stage. Companies are reluctant to introduce the system due to the rise in indirect costs. The labor circle is concerned about a mass production of new-type non-regular workers. However, companies can secure employment flexibility by meeting the change in demands, while employees can adjust working hours according to their personal situation. The success of the system lies on creating a culture where various types of workers can harmonize and on raising time-based productivity.