0.42 Jobs per Job Seeker in October... Lowest Since IMF Crisis

Number of Employment Insurance Subscribers Rises by 197,000
Service Sector Expands While Manufacturing and Construction Decline
Unemployment Benefit Applications Drop to 75,000, Down 16.2%

The job openings-to-applicants ratio, which represents the number of job openings per job seeker, fell to 0.42 last month, marking the lowest level since the 1997 foreign exchange crisis.

Job seekers attending the '2025 Win-Win Cooperation Job Fair' held last month at COEX Magok in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, are checking the job postings.

According to the "October 2025 Labor Market Trends Based on Employment Administration Statistics" released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on November 10, the number of new job openings registered through the employment service platform (Employment24) was 142,000, a decrease of 34,000 (19.2%). This decline was mainly due to reductions in manufacturing (down 18,000), business facility management (down 3,000), and wholesale and retail (down 3,000).

The number of new job seekers decreased by 24,000. Job seeking declined across all age groups, including young people (down 8,000). The job openings-to-applicants ratio, which indicates the number of jobs per job seeker, dropped by 0.07 points to 0.42. As of October, this is the lowest level since 1998 (0.19).

The number of new applicants for job-seeking benefits (unemployment benefits) fell by 15,000 (16.2%) to 75,000. This was mainly due to decreases in the construction industry (down 27,000) and the wholesale and retail industry (down 25,000). The number of people receiving job-seeking benefits was 576,000, a decrease of 12,000 (2.0%), while the total amount paid increased by 4.86 billion won (4.9%) to 1.0492 trillion won.

Cheon Gyeonggi, Director of Future Employment Analysis at the Ministry of Labor, explained, "The number of new applications and recipients of job-seeking benefits in October decreased because the number of working days for employment centers was reduced by two days due to the Chuseok holiday," adding, "The amount of job-seeking benefits paid increased as the number of recognized unemployment cases rose last month."

As of last month, the number of regular subscribers to employment insurance was 15,687,000, an increase of 197,000 (1.3%) compared to the same month last year. The number of regular subscribers, which had been increasing by around 180,000 in recent months, has maintained an increase in the 190,000 range for the second consecutive month since the previous month (192,000).

By industry, the service sector (10,947,000) saw an increase of 227,000. In the service sector, most industries experienced growth, led by health and welfare (up 110,000). In particular, the increase in accommodation and food services, which are related to domestic demand, expanded by 27,000, while the decline in wholesale and retail (down 1,000) eased.

On the other hand, due to continued sluggish business conditions, manufacturing (3,844,000) and construction (747,000) each decreased by 14,000 and 17,000, respectively. In manufacturing, the increase in automobiles (1,000) slowed, while the decline in metal processing (down 5,000) and machinery and equipment (down 4,000) widened, resulting in a decline for the fifth consecutive month.