KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

A Study on Female Participation in the National Employment Support System and Suggestions for Improving the Female Employment Service System

 

Sungmi Jung

 

The national employment support system, which was implemented on January 1, 2021, is a 'Korean-style Unemployment program' that provides both employment support services and livelihood support for the low-income class, the self-employed, young people, and career-interrupted women who are in the blind spot of the employment safety net. As a system, it was implemented based on the 「Act on the Promotion of Employment and Livelihood Support for Job Seekers」. After that, the law was amended on July 1 to ease the requirements for young people in relation to property and income requirements and work experience to expand participants.

For low-income job seekers, there is Type I, which provides employment services and KRW 600.000.000 job search promotion allowance (500,000 won per month × 6 months) if income, household wealth, and job experience requirements are met. It is operated by dividing it into Type II, which provides employment support services to high-level specific job seekers without any requirements. At this time, an Individual Action Plain was established, and the duty to search for a job was assigned to monitor the fulfillment of the job-seeking activity.

As a result of analyzing the participation of women in the National Employment Support System by November 2021, more than half of all applicants and recipients are women. In particular, in Type I, which has the largest number of applicants, 73.8% of women are the prime age group (35-49 years old). In all types, the proportion of women in participation and supply is high, and the 35-49 year olds account for about half, so there is a need for specialized public employment services for women with career interruptions.

The role of professional counselors is an important factor for the success of the national employment support system. In particular, the role of the Saeil employment promotion center, an organization that supports women's employment services, is important. In other words, with the introduction of the national employment support system, the need for employment services for low-income women is further emphasized. In particular, the Saeil employment promotion center, equipped with counseling and employment support services specialized for career-interrupted women and low-income vulnerable groups, has strengths in providing women-specific employment support services.

 

Research areas: labor？employment Keywords: National Employment Support System, Female Employment Service System