경기변동에 따른 노동시장의 비대칭적 반응 분석

Abstract

This paper analyzes the responses of labor market to the business cycle as well as the changes in those responses after Korean financial crisis which occurred late 1997 and early 1998. The unemployment rate and the size of labor force serve the indicators of labor market movement. The characteristics of Korean labor market responses found in this research are the followings. The unemployment rate responded to the business cycle symmetrically in both boom and recession before the crisis. But after the crisis, the response of unemployment rate to the business cycle turned into asymmetric and the response became bigger in recession than in boom. Each age group shows different pattern in their responses of unemployment rate to the business cycle. Young people in their 20's and 30's have had unstable employment. Their unemployment rate responded symmetrically to the business cycle before the crisis then their responses got bigger after the crisis. Even though the 40's and 50's had enjoyed stable employment before the crisis, their employment rushed into unstable conditions after the crisis. The size of labor force witnessed symmetric response to the business cycle and found no change in the way of responding to the business cycle after the crisis. But the way of responding reveals a huge difference by gender. Though the male labor force does not show any systematic response in its size to the business cycle, the size of female labor force fluctuates closely as the business cycle does. But the crisis did not bring any change to the response of the size of the female labor force.