농업분야 고용현황 분석 및 인력수급 안정화 방안

Abstract

농업부문은 성장 정체, 농가인구 감소 등으로 전체 취업자 중 종사자 비중이 지속적으로 감소하고 있고, 도시와의 소득격차, 진입장벽(농지보유, 면허 등) 등으로 젊은 농업 후계인력 유입이 미흡하다. 또한 인력수요의 계절성 문제, 신규인력의 농업분야 비선호 문제, 다른 산업분야 대비 상대적 저임금 문제 등 많은 구조적인 문제를 안고 있다. 이와 같이 농업부문 인력수급의 양적·질적 불일치가 지속 또는 심화될 경우 고용문제가 우리 농업의 미래에 큰 걸림돌로 작용할 것이므로 우리 농업의 미래성장을 위해 농촌인력의 안정화가 시급히 요구된다. 그러나 일반적인 산업 부문의 고용구조 및 개선방안에 대한 연구는 다수 존재하나, 농업 또는 농촌의 고용 및 노동력 수급에 관한 현황 또는 실태 조사, 노동력 수급안정화 방안에 대한 선행연구는 거의 없는 실정이다. 따라서 본 연구는 우선적으로 농축산업부문의 정밀한 고용 실태 파악을 위해 관련 통계의 심층 분석과 지역 오피니언, 농가, 농산업체를 대상으로 설문조사(전화설문, 우편설문)를 실시하고, 고용인력 부족에 대한 이론적 검토와 문제점을 발굴하여 농식품 및 농촌지역의 인력 수급 불일치를 해소하는 방안을 제시하기 위해 수행되었다. 특히, 그동안 고용노동부에서 산업별 외국인 노동자 쿼터량 설정을 위해 실시해 왔던 산업별 경영체 조사에 누락되어 오던 농업분야 경영체 조사를 실시하여 농업분야 외국인 노동자 수요량을 추정하였다.

Korean agriculture is experiencing hardship in right-time-farming due to imbalance in the supply and demand of labor. To obtain a more accurate picture of the current agricultural labor situation, this study analyzed various statistical data and conducted a fact-finding survey. Questionnaire and telephone surveys were conducted on local opinion leaders, farmers, recruit agencies and agricultural enterprise and on-the-spot investigations were made when necessary. A survey of opinion leaders showed that the ratio of respondents who said they are experiencing hardship due to labor shortage is 83.3%, a testament to the seriousness of the labor shortage problem. A survey of farmers, meanwhile, showed that the ratio of farmers who said they needed to hire workers stands at 73%, but only 11% said they use full-time workers whereas 63% said they use part-time workers on a daily basis. According to a survey of local recruit agencies, the degree of non-preference for farm jobs amongst workers was high at 80.4% due to job difficulty (41.9%) and low wage (17.4%). Those workers who are hired through local recruit agencies are mostly assigned to construction jobs, while the majority of hired workers in the agricultural sector are old workers in their 50s and 60s with past experience in farming. In agriculture and animal husbandry, the dependence on foreign labor is deepening. Since there is practically no weekends and public holidays in agriculture and animal farming as in facility agriculture and barn management, foreign workers are preferred over Korean workers who are reluctant to extra work. Foreign workers constitute the majority of full-time jobs in horticulture and mushroom cultivation. For sowing and harvesting of uphill and spice vegetables, illegal foreign workers are frequently employed. The number of woman immigrants who are married to Korean men and employed as full-time workers is on the rise. The most pressing issue with regard to employment of foreign workers in the agricultural sector is severe shortage of workers (29.6%) despite the surge in demand. The labor shortage problem increases management cost by raising the wage-negotiating power of foreign workers and induces moral hazard such as bad work attitude. It was revealed that the Hope and Work Project administered this year by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security has caused a severe problem in the labor market in rural regions. As most project participants who have been sources of agricultural labor flow away to the employment project because it is relatively easier to work in the project than in agriculture related jobs, the labor shortage in farming regions is aggravated. We also conducted a survey on agricultural enterprises's current employment including ration of permanent and temporary workers, domestic and foreign workers to estimate labor demand of foreign workers. Full-time workers stand at 73.2% with the highest portion, accounting for 21.8% of part-time workers, foreign workers accounted for 5.0%. The total ratio of shortage of manpower is 13.4% with the shortage ratio of domestic workers and foreign workers 13.0% and 19.7% respectively. Estimated demand for foreign workers changes from 5,000 to 20,000 people depending how to consider seasonal demand for part-time workers. We considered only 25% of total part-time workers in estimating foreign labor demand because three months a year (3/12) are harvest period in which part-time workers are mostly needed and employed in Korean upper-crop agriculture. The total demand for foreign workers is estimated as 11,111 people. The share of employment of part-time workers stands at 81.3%, and also full-time workers and foreign workers accounted for 16.1% and 2.6% respectively. The ratio that the recruit effort was not satisfied, i.e. the failure rate to find proper workers accounted for 7.5%(domestic workers 7.3%, foreign workers 17.8%). Surprisingly enough, 51% of agricultural companies did not try any effort to solve the manpower shortage problem because of a chronic shortage of labors in rural areas. However a few agricultural companies were trying to procure labors throughout using "foreign workers", "pay increase". The direction for stable supply of labor in agriculture should be set to address the pending issues of the agricultural job market (that is, seasonality of labor demand, short supply of labor due to non-preference of agricultural jobs by new entrants to the industry, and low wage compared to other industries), and detailed measures need to be prepared to solve the problems. The types of agricultural crops cultivated (especially of seed sowing) differ by region, and even if the cultivated crop is the same, the period of agricultural work varies from region to region. So in order to address the seasonality of a farming operation, the available manpower across the country should be put into a database, and a labor supply system should be built to address the seasonality of a farming operation. The efficiency of the labor supply system should also be elevated by carrying out labor market forecasting projects that show manpower data for different periods and regions across the country. There are some difficult aspects to deal with in regard to the low wage in agriculture. Accordingly, it is necessary to prepare measures that can support the wage and enhance the security of employment through efficient wages. In order to address the shortage of new job entrants to the agricultural sector, it is necessary to induce job seekers by expanding job experience opportunities as implicated in the existing employment model. For this purpose, it is necessary to actively consider the following measures: introduction of youth intern programs, designation of agricultural firms as defense industry enterprises, utilization of public service conscripts for agriculture, and expansion of community service orders in support of agriculture. In addition, despite the rising dependence on foreign labor, the available labor is far lacking and this increases management hardship due to rising wage and moral hazard such as work negligence and running away. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the quota on foreign workers and activate the human network for immigrant women. Furthermore, there needs to be welfare assistance, such as educational support, extension of stay, and the four national insurances, to provide a stable work environment. If the labor imbalance in the agricultural sector continues or deteriorates, then the employment issue will be a grave hindrance to the future of Korean agriculture. Therefore, it is necessary to realize that stabilization of the agricultural labor market is a pressing issue.