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Recruitment plans uninspiring

Despite a better economic outlook for next year, employment at major conglomerates?is expected to decline, Job Korea said yesterday.

According to a survey of 293 of?the top 500 companies in terms of sales, 71 percent, or 207, have plans in place for next year’s recruitment.

However, of those surveyed, only?52 percent, or 152 companies, said they will hold open recruitments for college graduates, while 19 percent said they will not hire at all and 29 percent have not?confirmed their recruitment plans.

The 152 companies plan to hire 14,378 employees in 2014, down?1.1 percent from this year’s recruitment.

?In addition, the average number of new hires planned per company fell to 95 for?next year from 98 this year.

By industry, 76.5 percent of transportation industry companies said they plan to hold open recruitments for college graduates next year, the highest percentage among sectors that plan to hire next year, followed by the food, beverage and restaurant industry (70.6 percent), service industry (66.7 percent), retail and trade industry (63.6 percent) and IT and communications industry (61.5 percent).

On the other hand, 33.3 percent of the petroleum and chemical industry and 33.3 percent of heavy industry and shipbuilding companies said they won’t hire any new employees.

In addition, 29.4 percent of the machinery and steel industry, 27.8 percent of the construction industry and 21.1 percent of the manufacturing industry do not plan to hold open recruitments next year.

In the financial sector, where restructuring is under way, more than half of companies (53.3 percent) have not yet made plans for the recruitment of college graduates.

When considering the total number of employees of each industry, most sectors will likely maintain the same scale as this year or slightly reduce it next year.

Compared to this year, the number of new employees will increase most in the IT and communications industry (8.8 percent), followed by the construction industry (6.7 percent), although many construction companies don’t plan to hold open recruitments.

Retail and trading sectors will increase the number of their new employees 2.9 percent and electronics by 1.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the transportation industry plans to reduce hiring by 2 percent, the machine and steel industry by 3.3 percent and the financial industry by 3.3 percent.

The largest decline is expected in the auto industry, at minus 11.1 percent. Other sectors that will scale back their recruitment include the food, beverage and restaurant industry (minus 5.6 percent), petroleum and chemical industry (minus 5.4 percent), manufacturing industry (minus 5.2 percent), and shipbuilding and heavy industry (minus 3.5 percent).

Although many industries will likely scale back their recruitment next year, the electronics industry has plans to recruit 2,800 new employees next year, followed by shipbuilding and heavy industry (1,800), retail and trade industry (1,530), manufacturing industry (1,295), construction industry (1,256), financial industry (1,045) and the food, beverage and restaurant industry (1,005).

BY KIM JUNG-YOON [kjy@joongang.co.kr]