Seoul, May 19 : Number of people losing jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis continues to rise in the Republic of Korea and the four months' figure has surpassed two million.    
This is the highest figure (from January to April) of jobless people in South Korea since 2000. The number of people without work has significantly increased in the past four months due to OVID-19 impact on trade and business, compulsion for maintaining social distancing and a remarkable fall in the internal and external import. The crisis has left more people unemployed primarily in service sector, productive sector and hotel and tourism business. Most sufferers are part-time job holders. But it does not mean that jobs of full-timers are secured. With the detection of COVID-19 infection here in February, the export business had dropped significantly.    
The fall which was 24.3 percent in April has reached 46.5 percent now.    
The drop in the export means the fall in the production which has led to a noticeable lay-off in the production sector. The COVID-19 has started impacting the Nepali immigrant workers in Korea. Some companies where Nepalis are working in have implemented the shift-wise duty on a rotational basis and the provision of forced leave to cope with the adversity, it is said. ---