Employment Rate Rises in 9 Provinces... Highest Record Ever

Statistics Korea 2023 First Half Regional Employment Survey
Key Employment Indicators by Si/Gun/Gu

The employment rate in city and county areas of 9 provinces in the first half of the year recorded the highest ever since related surveys began in 2013.

On the 22nd, Statistics Korea announced the '2023 First Half Regional Employment Survey: Major Employment Indicators by City, County, and District' containing this information. The number of employed persons in city areas of 9 provinces including Gangwon, Gyeonggi, Gyeongnam, Gyeongbuk, Jeonnam, Jeonbuk, Jeju, Chungnam, and Chungbuk reached 13,851,000, an increase of 240,000 compared to the same period last year, and the employment rate rose by 0.8 percentage points to 61.9%. High employment rates were observed in Seogwipo-si, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province (72.0%), Dangjin-si, Chungcheongnam-do (71.0%), and Yeongcheon-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do (67.6%).

The number of employed persons in county areas of the 9 provinces recorded 2,105,000, an increase of 11,000 compared to the same period last year, and the employment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points to 68.7%. High employment rates were seen in Cheongsong-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do (82.1%), Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do (78.6%), and Jangsu-gun, Jeollabuk-do (77.8%).

On the 11th, a job-related notice is posted at the Western Employment Welfare Plus Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

The number of employed persons in district areas of 7 special and metropolitan cities including Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju, Busan, Incheon, and Ulsan was 11,432,000, an increase of 207,000, and the employment rate rose by 1.0% to 58.3%. The unemployment rate in the 9 provincial areas was 2.7%, down by 0.1 percentage points. High unemployment rates were observed in Gumi-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do (4.6%), Geoje-si, Gyeongsangnam-do (4.3%), and Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do (4.0%).

The unemployment rate in county areas remained the same at 1.2% compared to the same period last year. High unemployment rates were found in Jeungpyeong-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do (3.9%), Wanju-gun, Jeollabuk-do (2.5%), and Yesan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do (2.4%). The unemployment rate in district areas also remained unchanged at 3.6%. In city and district areas, the most common employment sectors were business, personal, and public services, while in county areas, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries were the most prevalent.

The number of employed persons aged 15 and over residing in city areas based on workplace was 13,169,000, which was 682,000 fewer than the number of employed persons based on residence. This means that the number of employed persons working in the area was greater than the number of employed residents in that area. Regions where the number of employed persons based on workplace was less than those based on residence included Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do (-158,000) and Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do (-48,000).