470,000 Business Workers Increased in December Last Year... 10 Consecutive Months of Growth

Announcement of Employment and Labor Ministry's Business Workforce Survey Results
Average Monthly Wage per Person 3.53 Million Won... 4.0% Increase

Seoul Gwanghwamun Street Morning Commute / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

As of December last year, the total number of employees in all businesses was 18,927,000, an increase of 476,000 compared to the previous year. This marked a continuous growth trend for 10 months, driven by strong exports and the base effect from the previous year. The number of employees in the accommodation and food service businesses, which had slowed due to the spread of COVID-19, also increased by 4.7%.

According to the Business Workforce Survey results announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 27th, the total number of employees in all businesses as of the last business day of last month was 18,927,000. The industries with the largest increases in employees compared to the same month last year were healthcare and social welfare services (119,000), education services (80,000), and professional, scientific, and technical services (67,000).

The accommodation and food service businesses, which were hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, had 1,117,000 employees, an increase of 50,000 (4.7%) compared to the same month last year. This sector had recorded negative growth for 21 consecutive months from February the year before last until October last year, but has shown growth for two consecutive months due to the easing of quarantine measures and other factors.

On the other hand, the number of employees decreased the most in business facility management, business support, and rental services (7,000), transportation and warehousing (6,000), and finance and insurance (4,000).

By employment status, the number of regular employees increased by 238,000 (1.5%) and temporary and daily workers increased by 226,000 (13.1%) compared to the same month last year. By business size, the number of employees in businesses with fewer than 300 employees increased by 423,000 (2.7%), while those in businesses with 300 or more employees increased by 53,000 (1.8%). The number of manufacturing employees increased by 28,000 (0.8%), marking eight consecutive months of growth.

The number of new hires was 878,000, an increase of 80,000 (10.0%) compared to the same month last year, while the number of job leavers was 1,005,000, a decrease of 155,000 (-13.3%). The hiring rate rose by 0.4 percentage points to 4.9%, whereas the separation rate fell by 1.0 percentage point to 5.6% compared to the same month last year.

In November last year, the average total wage per worker was 3.43 million won, an increase of 132,000 won (4.0%) compared to the same month the previous year. The average working hours per worker in businesses with one or more regular employees was 168.6 hours, an increase of 5.8 hours (3.6%).