20,658 births, lowest ever for the same month
This year’s population decline is three times that of last year
Spouse maternity leave split use
Recruitment of foreign workers doubled
There is no major difference between the government’s new measures
As the death toll continues to rise due to the low birth rate and the impact of Corona 19, the population decline has expanded to three times the level of last year by October of this year. The trend of decreasing births has continued for nearly 7 years, and last October the number of births recorded an all-time low for the same month.
According to the October population trend announced by the National Statistical Office on the 28th, the number of births in October was 20,658. The number of babies born in October was the lowest since related statistics were compiled in 1981. The crude birth rate (the number of babies born per 1,000 people) also reached a record low of 4.7.
The number of deaths in October was 29,763, up 7.3% (2013) from the same period last year. It is the highest ever for the same month. Monthly death tolls had declined at one time, but have been rising since last August, when the COVID-19 epidemic re-emerged.
Natural population growth, which is the number of births minus the number of deaths, recorded a decrease of 9,104 as of October. If you expand it from January to October this year, the scale of population decline reaches 95,879 people. The decrease is 2.8 times larger than the same period last year (34,096). The number of births (212,881) between January and October of this year decreased by 4.8% compared to the same period last year. On the other hand, the number of deaths (308,760) increased by 19.8%. The natural population decline has continued for three full years since November 2019.
On this day, the government came up with comprehensive measures to respond to changes in the demographic structure due to low birth rates and aging. Spouse maternity leave will be changed so that it can be shared more than once, and the target of childcare leave benefits will be expanded to special education workers and artists who are subscribed to employment insurance.
It also includes a plan to actively attract foreign workers in order to expand the shortage of industrial field manpower. In the first half of next year, a negative-type visa that allows excellent foreign workers to work regardless of the occupations (93 jobs permitted in advance) will be established. The current 5-year period of stay qualifications will be relaxed to 4 years within the visa period (4 years and 10 months). The scale of introduction of foreign workers will be increased from 59,000 this year to 110,000 next year, and the scope of employment will be increased by converting the employment permitted industries (mining and service industries) of overseas Korean visiting employment (H-2) to a negative method. Establishment of a mid- to long-term immigration policy and the establishment of an immigration policy control tower organization to design it is also reviewed.
In preparation for an aging society, the government is also starting social discussions on employment extension. Introduce a ‘Korean-style continuous employment system’ that allows people over the age of 60 to continue working, and increase continuous employment incentives and senior employment subsidies for small and medium-sized enterprises. A plan to apply unemployment benefits to newly employed workers over the age of 65 is also being reviewed.
The population measures put forward by the government included response plans in various fields such as population, care, childcare, and employment, but the contents were not significantly different from the existing measures. Cha Woo-gyu, vice president of Korean National University of Education (President of the Korean Association for Population Education), said, “This is an extension of policies that have not been effective even after most have been implemented.” We need to work together,” he said.