This photo, from Sept. 14, 2020, shows office workers out for lunch in the central Seoul ward of Jongno. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean companies on average spent 5.34 million won (US$4,584) each month to hire one worker in 2019, up 2.8 percent from the previous year, the labor ministry said Wednesday.
The figure, which includes monthly salary, severance pay, insurance fees and miscellaneous costs, came from data collected from companies that had 10 or more employees who were on a contract of at least one year.
It does not include workers who were hired for less than a year.
Of the total, direct expenses, such as salary, additional pay for overtime hours and bonuses, rose 2.5 percent on-year to 4.25 million won, while indirect expenses, such as severance pay, insurance fees, meal support and training costs, increased 3.9 percent to 1.09 million won, according to the ministry.
By company size, companies with less than 300 employees spent 4.43 million won per month, up 3.5 percent from the previous year, while those with 300 or more spent 6.5 million won in the same period, up 2.9 percent on-year.
The annual tally is based on samples extracted from 3,500 companies across the country that had 10 or more employees on a contract of at least one year.
It does not include companies in the agriculture, fisheries, public administration, education services and social welfare sectors.
(Yonhap)
