Korea's job growth rebounds, ending two-year slump

Korea's job growth rebounded in the first quarter, breaking a two-year deceleration. Jobs for young people continued to decline while older adults drove the increase.

Workers are on duty at a construction site in Seoul on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Korea's job growth broke a nearly two-year streak of deceleration in the first quarter of this year despite a notable contraction in the construction sector, data showed Wednesday.

However, the generational gap in job growth continued to expand, with the decline in jobs for young people picking up pace.

The number of paid jobs increased by 314,000 from a year earlier, numbering 20.52 million as of February this year, according to the latest quarterly data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared to the first quarter of last year, 2.17 million jobs were lost while 2.49 million new jobs were added.

On-year growth was slightly steeper than the 293,000 increase logged in the previous quarter, marking the first rebound since the first quarter of 2022. The yearly growth of paid jobs had been shrinking for seven quarters in a row until last year.

Jobs among older adults drove the increase.

Jobs for those in their 60s or older increased by a net of 263,000, or 7.9 percent, and jobs for those in their 50s by 128,000, representing 2.8 percent. People in their 30s gained 57,000 jobs, a 1.3 percent increase.

In contrast, people in their 20s or younger saw a 3.2 percent decrease, or a loss of 102,000 compared to the 97,000 yearly drop recorded the previous quarter.

Those in their 40s also saw a 0.7 percent drop, representing a loss of 32,000 jobs.

The number of jobs for 20-somethings or less has been declining for six quarters in a row.

By sector, the construction industry saw a steep drop in the first quarter, losing 48,000 jobs to reach a total of 1.84 million, weighed down by the industry's sluggish performance. The figure declined by 9,000 in the real estate sector.

On the other hand, the number of jobs in health care and social work jumped by 139,000 to 2.56 million. The logistics sector gained 43,000 jobs to reach 749,000 while the hospitality and food service industry added 40,000 to 943,000.

The manufacturing sector, which accounts for 21 percent of the total as the largest segment, added 31,000 jobs to reach 4.28 million.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]