Companies to create over 2,000 'decent part-time jobs'

Companies will create over 2,000 "decent part-time jobs" by the middle of next year in response to the government's efforts to raise the country's overall employment rate to 70 percent, a state-run foundation said Wednesday.

The foundation for labor-management development said it has decided on Monday to use government funds to support plans by 269 local firms around the country to create a total of 2,118 quality part-time jobs.

They include eight subsidiaries of the food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), according to the foundation.

The labor ministry-affiliated body is in charge of screening companies applying for government support under a state program aimed at creating decent part-time jobs.

Decent part-time jobs refer to part-time or contract-based jobs that give workers who work 15 to 30 hours a week the same benefits as those afforded to full-time workers.

Under the program, companies will be subsidized by the government for about half of the wages for their new part-time employees in the first year.

The Park Geun-hye government has been pushing to boost job creation and raise the country's employment rate to 70 percent over the next five years by providing high-quality work opportunities, including part-time jobs. The employment rate stood at 60.4 percent last month. (Yonhap News)