January Employment Increased by 1.135 Million... Largest Since March 2000 (Update)

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The number of employed persons in January increased by 1,135,000 compared to the same period last year. This is the largest increase since March 2000 (1,211,000).

South Korea has continued its employment recovery for 11 consecutive months, overcoming the worst 'employment shock' since the foreign exchange crisis when the number of employed persons sharply dropped by nearly 1 million in January last year due to the impact of COVID-19. Despite the strong spread of Omicron, the number of employed persons in the accommodation and food service sectors, which were majorly affected by COVID-19, showed an increase for two consecutive months.

According to the 'January Employment Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the 16th, the number of employed persons last month was 26,953,000, an increase of 1,135,000 compared to one year ago. This is the largest increase in 21 years and 10 months.

The number of employed persons has increased for 11 consecutive months since the rebound in March last year. The increase expanded from 314,000 in March to 652,000 in April, then slowed down in May (619,000), June (582,000), July (542,000), and August (518,000). Afterwards, it fluctuated between 500,000 and 600,000 in September (671,000), October (652,000), and November (503,000), followed by a sharp recovery to 773,000 in December and a triple-digit increase in January.

The number of employed persons last month also rose by 68,000 compared to the previous month (seasonally adjusted). The employment rate for those aged 15 and over was 59.6%, up 2.2 percentage points from the same period last year. The number of unemployed persons was 1,143,000, down 427,000 from a year ago. The unemployment rate fell by 1.6 percentage points to 4.1%.

The economically inactive population was 17,104,000, decreasing by 476,000, marking 11 consecutive months of decline.

Gong Misook, Director of the Social Statistics Bureau at Statistics Korea, explained, "The base effect from the sharp drop in employed persons in January last year, favorable exports, and industrial structural changes such as non-face-to-face and digital transformation have led to an increase in employed persons and a decrease in unemployed and economically inactive populations, continuing the employment recovery trend."