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영어

This paper investigates the impacts of Korean foreign exchange crisis in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2008 on Korea’s labor market. So it analyzes the reactions of economic units to mitigate adverse impacts on employment and changes in labor market order in response to the two economic crises. Besides, it provides policy implications to cope with adverse impacts on labor market once an economic crisis is triggered. All economic crises leave scars. In particular, Korean foreign exchange crisis and the global financial crisis which are spreaded from financial sector to real sector have left distinct scars on Korea’s labor market. Although they are different in the process of development and the reactions of economic units, they have something in common to give rise to a new labor market order respectively. The main response of labor market to Korean foreign exchange crisis is enlargement of employment adjustment and labor market flexibility. The enlargement of employment adjustment, that is, increase in the flexibility of labor market is promoted by the enforcement of layoff and the introduction of temporary agent work in the side of labor-management relations, and by the expansion of temporary work and the usual occurrence of contract buyout in the side of labor market order. After the crisis, job creation is lowered. The unemployment rate of the youth is increased. And the quality and the stability of jobs are declined. The crucial response of labor market to the global financial crisis is work sharing which comes from the experiences of Korean foreign exchange crisis. As a result, the concerned problem of great unemployment could be avoided. In addition to work sharing, the less severe impacts on employment during the global financial crisis can be attributed to smaller GDP reduction, better maintenance of domestic demand, less severe credit crunch, and less serious over-employment. After the crisis, job’s stability of women, the youth, and the temporary workers is weakened. And there appears a new problem of ‘growthless jobs’. Economic crises bear continuous scars. In order to mitigate its adverse medium and long term impacts on employment, priority should be given to expansionary macroeconomic policies to keep aggregate domestic demand from collapsing once a feasible economic crisis is triggered. Also it is crucial to maintain sound economic structures such as adequately supervised financial market. In addition, an advanced social safety net such as unemployment insurance for the vulnerable class must be built to protect them from the dead zone. And more intensified infrastructures to enhance job support services have to be constructed both qualitatively and quantitatively.

한국어

본 논문은 외환위기와 글로벌 금융위기가 우리나라 노동시장에 미친 영향을 노동시장의 대응과 노동시장 질서의 변화라는 관점에서 구명하고자 하였다. 따라서 두 경제위기의 전개과정을 따라 노동시장 특히 고용에 미친 영향을 살핀 후, 외적 충격을 완화하기 위한 경제주체들의 대응은 어떠했는가, 그리고 그 대응의 결과 노동시장의 질서에는 어떠한 변화가 초래되었는가를 분석하였다. 외환위기에 대한 노동시장의 대응은 정리해고제의 시행 및 파견근로제의 도입을 통한 대규모 고용조정과 노동의 유연화였다. 회복 이후에는 고용창출 기반이 약화되고, 청년층 실업은 크게 증가하였다. 그리고 임시․일용직의 확대와 명예퇴직의 상시화 등으로 고용의 질과 안정성도 크게 떨어졌다. 글로벌 금융위기에 대응해서는 대규모 고용조정만이 능사가 아니라는 학습효과에 따라 기업과 정부 등이 일자리 나누기에 적극 나섰다. 그 결과 예상되던 실업대란은 피할 수 있었다. 회복 이후에는 여성, 청년층, 비정규직 등의 고용불안이 보다 심각해졌다. 또한 ‘성장 없는 고용’이 새로운 문제로 등장하였다. 경제위기의 영향은 위기 당시에만 그치지 않고 지속적으로 상흔을 남긴다. 또한 정책적 대응도 임기응변만으로는 사회적 비용이 대단히 클 수 있다. 그러므로 경제위기가 사후적으로 남기게 될 중․장기적인 영향까지 고려해서 실업 및 고용정책을 제도화하는 대응이 필요하다.