THE SEVERE DECREASE IN MALE EMPLOYMENT
Since the number of employed persons decreased by 361 thousand and the number of unemployed persons increased by 295 thousand, the labor force decreased by 295 thousand from January to February. As a result, the unemployment rate increased by 0.2 pp to 10.0%. It should be noted that the losses in the employment level in 7 provinces that were affected by the tragic earthquake severely is not included in those calculations.
The seasonally adjusted female unemployment rate decreased by 0.9 pp to 12.6% from January to February, as female employment rose by 215 thousand and female unemployment decreased by 94 thousand. As for males, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate went up by 0.8 pp to 8.7% following the sharp drop in male employment by 575 thousand and the increase in the number of unemployed males by 160 thousand. Consequently, the female labor force increased by 120 thousand while male labor force decreased by 415 thousand. Following these developments, the gender gap in the unemployment rates of females and males receded by 1.8 pp to 3.9%.