Online Shopping Boom: 1% Increase in Digital Consumption May Cost 34,000 Jobs

It has been shown that as the proportion of online consumption increases, the number of employed decreases, but the rate of increase in consumer prices decreases.

Kim Ji-yeon, KDI forecast manager at the Korea Development Institute, said this was the result of analyzing the relationship between the proportion of online consumption, employment, and prices from the first quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of this year.

Director Kim Ji-yeon explained that it has been analyzed that if the proportion of online consumption increases by 1 percentage point, the average number of employed people per year will decrease by 34,000 people per year, especially in the lodging, restaurant, and wholesale and retail industries.

He also added that the product price inflation rate for the year was found to drop by about 0.07%p.

This is the result of reducing the distribution stage and reducing store maintenance and labor costs, allowing products to be sold at lower prices than offline.

General Manager Kim said that it is not easy for workers to move between industries in a short period of time and suggested that smooth industry transitions should be helped through strengthening re-education.

YTN Lee Seung-eun (selee@ytn.co.kr)

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