Increase in Employment Insurance Subscribers Remains in the 200,000 Range for Three Consecutive Months

Construction Industry Declines for 10 Consecutive Months

The increase in the number of employment insurance subscribers continued to slow down, with the growth rate remaining in the 200,000 range for three consecutive months last month.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 10th, as of the end of May, the number of regular employment insurance subscribers was 15,393,000, an increase of 240,000 (1.6%) compared to one year ago. The growth rate of subscribers has continued to decline, reaching the lowest level in 39 months since February 2021 (192,000). This is due to the continued decrease in subscribers in their 20s and 40s, the age groups most affected by population decline. Employment insurance subscribers under 29 and those in their 40s decreased by 89,000 (-3.6%) and 34,000 (-1.0%) respectively compared to the previous year.

The number of subscribers in their 20s has decreased for 21 consecutive months, and those in their 40s for 7 consecutive months, with the decline continuing to set new records for the largest decrease since statistics began in 1997. On the other hand, subscribers aged 60 and over and those in their 50s have continued to increase significantly. Subscribers aged 60 and over increased by 202,000 (8.5%) and those in their 50s by 115,000 (3.5%) compared to the previous year. Subscribers in their 30s also increased by 46,000 (1.3%).

As the increase in those aged 60 and over continues and the decrease in those under 20 continues, the proportion of subscribers aged 60 and over among all employment insurance subscribers has widened the gap since surpassing those under 20 in October last year. As of May, those aged 60 and over accounted for 16.8%, while those under 29 accounted for 15.5%. Of the total increase of 240,000 subscribers, 182,000 were domestic nationals and 57,000 were foreigners.

By industry, subscribers in manufacturing and service sectors increased by 43,000 and 200,000 respectively, while construction decreased by 8,000. Construction has been declining for 10 consecutive months. In manufacturing, domestic subscribers excluding foreigners have continued to decline for 8 months.

The number of new job-seeker benefit applicants in May was 88,000, an increase of 2,000 (1.8%) compared to the same month last year. The number of job-seeker benefit recipients was 646,000, a decrease of 1.6%, but the payment amount increased by 1.4% to 1.0786 trillion won, marking over one trillion won for two consecutive months.

The number of new job openings posted on Worknet in May was 187,000, a sharp decrease of 28.6% compared to one year ago, and the number of new job seekers was 367,000, down 7.4%.