June Employment Increased by 96,000... Youth Employment Rate Down by 0.4%P (Update)

Statistics Korea June Employment Trends

Seoul Western Employment Support Center. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The increase in the number of employed persons last month was limited to 96,000, falling below 100,000 for the second consecutive month. The employment rate among the youth dropped by 0.4 percentage points to 46.6%.

According to the 'June Employment Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 10th, the number of employed persons aged 15 and over last month was 28.907 million, an increase of 96,000 compared to the same month last year. The increase in employment had recovered to the 200,000 range in April (261,000) after three months of growth, but fell below 100,000 for two consecutive months following last month (80,000).

By industry, employment increased in health and social welfare services (120,000), information and communications (75,000), and transportation and warehousing (47,000). Conversely, employment decreased in construction (-66,000), education services (-63,000), and business facility management, business support, and rental services (-62,000).

By employment status, among wage workers, the number of regular workers increased by 139,000 and temporary workers by 204,000, while daily workers decreased by 121,000.

The employment rate for those aged 15 and over was 63.5%, unchanged from a year earlier. This is the highest May figure since related statistics began in 1987.

The employment rate for ages 15-64, the OECD comparison standard, was 69.9%, the same as a year ago. The youth employment rate (ages 15-29) was 46.6%, down 0.4 percentage points from the same month last year.

The unemployment rate was 2.9%, up 0.2 percentage points from the same month last year. The number of unemployed persons was 857,000, an increase of 50,000 (6.2%) compared to the same month last year. The number of unemployed increased among those in their 30s (24,000), 40s (18,000), and those aged 60 and over (17,000).

The youth unemployment rate was 6.2%, down 0.1 percentage points from the same month last year.

The economically inactive population was 15.786 million, an increase of 21,000 (-0.1%) from a year earlier, marking the first increase in 40 months. By gender, the number of men was 5.887 million, up 96,000 (1.7%) from the same month last year, while the number of women was 9.899 million, down 74,000 (-0.7%).