Employment increased by 123,000 last month... Construction and Manufacturing Sectors Remain Weak (Update)

Statistics Korea November Employment Trends Released
Construction Industry Employment Drops Sharply by 96,000

The number of employed people last month maintained an increase of around 100,000 due to sluggishness in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

According to the 'November Employment Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 11th, the number of employed people aged 15 and over last month was 28,821,000, an increase of 123,000 compared to the same month last year.

The increase in the number of employed people fell below 100,000 to 96,000 in June, then recovered for three consecutive months in July (172,000), August (123,000), and September (144,000), but the growth slowed again in October (83,000).

By industry, employment increased in health and social welfare services (113,000), education services (106,000), and information and communications (71,000). On the other hand, construction (-96,000), manufacturing (-95,000), and wholesale and retail trade (-89,000) decreased.

By employment status, among wage workers, permanent workers increased by 167,000 and temporary workers by 105,000, but daily workers decreased by 103,000.

Among non-wage workers, self-employed persons with employees decreased by 39,000, while self-employed persons without employees increased by 26,000. Unpaid family workers decreased by 35,000.

The employment rate for those aged 15 and over was 63.2%, up 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier. The employment rate for ages 15-64, the OECD comparison standard, was 69.9%, up 0.3 percentage points from the same month last year. The youth (ages 15-29) employment rate was 45.5%, down 0.8 percentage points from the same month last year.

The unemployment rate was 2.2%, down 0.1 percentage points compared to a year ago. The number of unemployed was 656,000, a decrease of 21,000 compared to the same month last year. Unemployed persons decreased in their 30s (-15,000), 40s (-9,000), and 50s (-8,000).

The number of unemployed youth decreased by 1,000 compared to a year ago, but the unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points.

The economically inactive population was 16,151,000, an increase of 50,000 (0.3%) from a year earlier. By gender, males numbered 6,112,000, an increase of 157,000 (2.6%) compared to the same month last year, while females numbered 10,040,000, a decrease of 107,000 (-1.1%).

Among the economically inactive population, the number of people who were 'resting' increased in their 20s (65,000) and those aged 60 and over (47,000) compared to the same month last year. The number of discouraged job seekers was 335,000, a decrease of 29,000 compared to the same month last year.