농어촌 고용실태와 인력정책 방향

Abstract

본 연구는 우리의 농업인력 수급실태에 대한 보다 엄밀한 현황분석을 위해 여러 통계자료를 분석하고 실태조사를 실시하였다. 실태조사를 위해서는 지역오피니언 리더, 농업인, 농촌인근 인력회사를 대상으로 설문 및 전화조사를 실시하고 필요 시 현장조사를 통해 보완하였다. 조사에 응한 지역 오피니언 리더들에 의하면, 농작업 인력부족으로 적기영농에 어려움을 겪고 있다고 답한 비율이 83.3%에 달해 인력 수급 문제가 심각함을 보여준다. 농업인 조사에서는 고용노동력이 필요하다고 응답한 농업인 비중이 73%로 높게 나타났다. 그러나 실제로 상시고용을 이용하는 비중은 11%에 그친 반면, 일일고용을 이용하는 비중은 63%를 차지하는 것으로 나타났다. 농촌 인근 인력회사 조사에서는 농촌지역 인력회사 인부들의 농작업에 대한 비선호도가 80.4%로 매우 높게 나타났는데, 농작업의 어려움(41.9%)과 저임금(17.4%)이 주된 이유로 나타났다.

Labor shortage has been a critical problem in Korean agriculture. 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 employment situation, this study analyzed various statistical data and conducted a fact-finding survey. Questionnaire and telephone surveys were conducted on local opinion leaders, farmers and recruit agencies, 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. 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.

Researchers: Byeong-Ryul Kim(Ph.D.), Ik-su Jun(Ph.D.), Jong-Yeol Yoon, Ja-Hye Min, Mi-seong Park, Mal-jing Kim, Bae-seong Kim(Ph.D.), Jeong-seop Kim(Ph.D), Jae-hwan Han(Ph.D) E-mail: brkim@krei.re.kr