▲ Gyeonggi Labor Foundation
An analysis has shown that the slowdown in job growth rate in Gyeonggi Province is largely attributable to the cooling employment growth in the healthcare sector, which had previously expanded rapidly since entering the 2020s.
The Job Research Center under the Gyeonggi Labor Foundation announced on August 6 that it has published a GJF Employment Issue Report titled "Analysis of Causes for the Recent Decline in Job Growth Rates in Business, Personal, and Public Services in Gyeonggi Province," containing these findings.
The report analyzed the background behind the decline in Gyeonggi Province's employment growth rate using industry-specific employment statistics.
In particular, it examined the impact of changes in the growth rate of the healthcare sector within the broader health and welfare industry on the overall employment growth rate.
According to the report, the employment growth rate in Gyeonggi Province's business, personal, and public services sectors recorded 0.8% in the first quarter of this year.
Consequently, the overall employment growth rate for Gyeonggi Province remained at a meager 0.2%.
In contrast, nationwide employment in business, personal, and public services recorded a growth rate of about 2.0%.
During the same period, the nationwide employment growth rate across all industries stood at 0.6%.
Business, personal, and public service industries have accounted for the largest share of job creation in South Korea since the 2000s.
From 2013 to last year, employment across all industries nationwide increased by 3.47 million, of which business, personal, and public service employment grew by 2.81 million, accounting for 81% of the total increase.
Among them, employment in the health and welfare industry increased by 1.61 million, accounting for 46% of the total increase.
Employment in Gyeonggi Province's health and welfare industry grew faster than the national average, driven by the province's economic growth.
While nationwide health and welfare employment increased by 81% from 2015 to 2024, Gyeonggi Province saw a 87% increase.
Specifically, employment in the healthcare sector, including clinics and hospitals, grew by 39% nationwide, whereas it surged by 58% in Gyeonggi Province.
The healthcare industry is a local service sector supplied around residents' neighborhoods.
The rapid growth of Gyeonggi Province's healthcare sector in the late 2010s and early 2020s reflects the fact that population inflow and income growth in the province outpaced other regions.
However, following a steep growth trajectory that lasted through 2023, the recent growth pace of Gyeonggi's healthcare sector has significantly slowed down.
This shift has been analyzed as the primary cause for the recent decline in the employment growth rate of Gyeonggi Province's health and welfare industry.
The report explained that the recent drop in employment growth is a phenomenon resulting from the stabilization of the healthcare sector following its rapid expansion, rather than policy factors in the social welfare sector.
Choi Kyung-soo, a senior research fellow at the Gyeonggi Labor Foundation Job Research Center, stated, "The decline in the employment growth rate of Gyeonggi's health and welfare industry is attributed to the healthcare sector, centered on hospitals and clinics, growing faster than in other municipal and provincial jurisdictions before experiencing a recent cooling off in growth."
(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Province, Yonhap News)
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