Salaried Workers Decrease for 4th Consecutive Month... Employment Propped Up by Self-Employment

[Anchor]

The number of salaried workers has decreased compared to the previous year for the fourth consecutive month. Meanwhile, the number of self-employed individuals is on the rise, which is being interpreted as a sign of weakening social safety nets.

Reporter Kim Beom-joo has the details.

[Reporter]

The number of wage earners, considered relatively stable jobs through formal employment, has been tallied as decreasing compared to the previous year for four straight months.

According to an analysis of the Economically Active Population Survey by Statistics Korea, the number of wage earners in July stood at 22,487,000, a decrease of 11,000 from a year earlier.

The number of wage earners has fallen below the figures from a year ago for four consecutive months starting in April.

This four-month consecutive decline in wage earners is the first time since 2021, when the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic was severe, and prior to that, one has to go all the way back to the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis in 1999.

Looking at July data by industry, professional, scientific, and technical services—including various professional and research and development jobs—saw the largest drop, with 86,000 fewer workers.

By age group, the youth demographic aged 15 to 29 experienced the largest decrease, losing 210,000 workers.

Conversely, non-wage workers, primarily centered around self-employed individuals, increased by 119,000 in July.

Among the self-employed, the 30s age group saw the largest increase, rising by 64,000 compared to a year ago, followed by those in their 60s with an increase of 36,000.

These results suggest that as companies cut back on hiring, involuntary startups have continued to emerge, thereby increasing the segment of the population vulnerable to economic fluctuations.

The government analyzed that if the conflict involving Iran subsides and oil prices stabilize, companies may resume hiring and turn the situation around.

[Video Editing: Ahn Yeo-jin]

※