Half of Office Workers Earn Less Than 3 Million Won a Month... What About Those Earning Over 4 Million Won?

More than half earn less than 3 million KRW before tax per month
21% of workers earn less than 2 million KRW

More than half of office workers earned less than 3 million KRW in pre-tax monthly salary in the first half of this year. Additionally, 21% of workers earned less than 2 million KRW.

According to the “2023 First Half (April) Regional Employment Survey on Characteristics of Employed Persons by Industry and Occupation” released by Statistics Korea, among all wage workers (21.794 million), 54.7% earned less than 3 million KRW before tax.

The data was compiled based on population estimates from the registered census, surveying respondents on their average pre-tax wages including bonuses over the past three months.

Specifically, the largest group was those earning between 2 million and 3 million KRW, accounting for 33.7%, followed by those earning 4 million KRW or more at 24%. Those earning between 3 million and 4 million KRW accounted for 21.3%, and those earning between 1 million and 2 million KRW made up 9.1%.

By industry, the 2 million to 3 million KRW wage bracket was most prominent in Business Facility Management, Business Support and Rental Services, and Real Estate industries, with shares of 46.7% and 42.9%, respectively. For wages above 4 million KRW, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services and Finance and Insurance industries had high proportions at 46.5% and 46.2%, respectively.

The total number of employed persons, including wage workers, increased by 354,000 from 28.078 million in the first half of last year. Employment decreased by 137,000 and 7,000 in the 15?29 and 30?49 age groups, respectively, but increased by 497,000 among those aged 50 and above.

By sector, the highest number of employed persons was in restaurants, pubs, and cafes. The retail sector (excluding automobiles), which previously held the top spot, dropped to second place. Education services ranked third with 6.7%.

Employees in restaurants, pubs, and cafes accounted for about 7.4% of the total 28.432 million employed persons in the first half of this year, totaling 2.118 million, marking the highest number. This is an increase of 130,000 compared to the first half of last year.

This is the first time since related statistics began being compiled in 2013 that the restaurant and pub sector ranked first in employment among all industries. This phenomenon is analyzed as a result of explosive demand for restaurants and cafes following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversely, sectors with decreased employment included Legislative and General Government Administration (-27,000), Insurance (-26,000), and Other Metal Product Manufacturing (-22,000).

By age group, employment in restaurants and pubs increased significantly across all age groups under 40 compared to a year ago. Notably, among those aged 15?29, employment in restaurants and pubs increased by 48,000 compared to the first half of last year, with increases of 33,000 and 14,000 in the 30s and 40s age groups, respectively.