Korea’s job growth steady in October, employment down among 20s

(Yonhap News)

South Korea added about 193,000 jobs in October from a year ago, maintaining a stable growth trend, data showed on Wednesday. The number of employed people among young people, however, fell, with the employment rate dropping for the 18th straight month.

According to data released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on Wednesday, the total number of employed people stood at 29.04 million in October, up 193,000 from the same period a year ago.

The growth has remained in the 100,000 range each month this year except for increases of 245,000 and 312,000 in May and September.

By age group, employment declined in all age brackets except those aged 60 and over (up 334,000) and those in their 30s (up 80,000).

Those aged between 15 and 29 saw the largest drop, shedding 163,000 jobs in October.

The slump in manufacturing and construction – industries classified as providing quality jobs – persisted in October.

Construction employment fell by 123,000, marking its 18th consecutive month of decline and widening from 84,000 in September.

The data ministry attributed this to the impact of frequent rainfall in October.

Manufacturing employment also decreased by 51,000, extending its 16-month losing streak, though the decline was the smallest since a decline of 33,000 in October 2024.

The agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector also continued its decline, shedding 124,000 jobs.

This is seen as reflecting the structural decline in the sector due to aging and changes in the industrial structure.

Employment in the wholesale and retail trade sector, on the other hand, rose by 46,000, marking the largest increase since November 2017.

The arts, sports, and leisure sector also added 70,000 jobs, showing a notable rise.

This is likely due to government measures such as the distribution of consumer coupons and discount vouchers for cultural performances and exhibitions.

The employment rate for those aged 15 and older stood at 63.4 percent, the highest ever for October.

The rate for those aged 15-64, which is the standard of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), reached 70.1 percent, also a record high for October.

However, the youth employment rate fell to 44.6 percent, down 1 percentage point from a year earlier, marking its 18th straight month of decline.

“Hiring practices focused on experienced workers or rolling recruitment were unfavorably impacting young job seekers,” said Kong Mi-sook, a senior official at the ministry. “The poor performance of manufacturing, which employs many young people, was also a contributing factor.”

The number of unemployed declined by 20,000 to 658,000.

The jobless rate dropped 0.1 percentage point year-on-year to 2.2 percent, while the youth unemployment rate declined 0.2 percentage point to 5.3 percent.

The number of economically inactive population reached 16.12 million, up 38,000 from a year earlier. Those categorized as idle among the non-economically active population reached 2.58 million, up 135,000.

While the number of young people in the idle category fell by 9,000 to 409,000, the figure rose by 24,000 among those in their 30s, reaching 334,000, the highest since related statistics began in 2003.

“Although employment and labor force participation rates among those in their 30s remain generally solid, there is a growing trend among the non-economically active population that shows a decrease in those engaged in childcare and housework and an increase in those classified as idle,’” Kong noted.