Abstract
To investigate whether, along with economic growth, South Korea has become a better place for workers, we examine trends in seven job quality dimensions in South Korea between 2006 and 2020. We find that the mean values of job quality dimensions changed in opposite directions. The largest rise was in Working Time Quality associated with ongoing reductions in working hours against a background of working time regulation. The indices for Earnings and for Social Environment also improved. However, the indices for Prospects, Skills and Discretion, Work Intensity and Physical Environment all worsened. We also study two key axes of inequality. There is a job quality gap in six dimensions between graduates and non-graduates; however, this job quality premium has diminished over time. Males show better job quality than females only in three dimensions. Given mounting evidence of how much job quality affects health and well-being, these findings bring into question the presumption of social progress that is normally drawn from sustained economic growth.
