▲ A job-related bulletin board at a university job plus center in Seoul on May 19. (File Photo)
Wage-based jobs in South Korea increased by nearly 300,000 in the first quarter of this year, led primarily by people in their 60s and 30s.
However, employment weakness persisted for those aged 20 and under, with jobs declining for the 14th consecutive quarter.
Jobs in the semiconductor sector, which is experiencing an unprecedented boom, increased by 5,000.
Nonetheless, semiconductors saw only a marginal expansion in their share of total manufacturing jobs.
According to the "Q1 2026 Wage-Based Employment Trends" released by the National Data Office today (the 24th), total wage-based jobs stood at 20,828,000 as of February this year, an increase of 292,000 from a year earlier.
This marks the highest figure in two years since the first quarter of 2024 (314,000 jobs).
The growth in wage-based jobs dropped to a record low of 15,000 in the first quarter of last year, before recovering to 111,000 in the second quarter, 139,000 in the third quarter, and 221,000 in the fourth quarter, continuing an upward trend into this year.
Sustained jobs, occupied by the same workers as a year earlier, accounted for 15,416,000, or 74.0%.
Jobs where workers were replaced due to retirement or job turnover stood at 3,186,000, representing 15.3%.
New jobs created by the establishment of enterprises or business expansions reached 2,226,000 (10.7%).
Meanwhile, 1,934,000 jobs disappeared due to corporate closures or business downsizing.
By age group, jobs for those aged 20 and under decreased by 76,000.
Jobs for individuals aged 20 and under have been on the decline for 14 straight quarters starting from the fourth quarter of 2022.
This is analyzed to be a result of delayed entry into the first job market as young people spend more time building qualifications, coupled with companies preferring experienced workers.
Reflecting the impact of population decline, jobs for those in their 40s also decreased by 19,000.
In contrast, jobs for those aged 60 and above saw the largest increase at 233,000, while increases were also recorded for those in their 30s (115,000) and 50s (40,000).
Notably, those in their 30s set a new record for the largest increase ever within just one quarter, surpassing the previous record set in the previous quarter (99,000).
Experts analyze that this is partly due to the shifting timing of entry into the job market from people in their 20s to those in their 30s.
By age group share, those in their 50s accounted for the highest proportion of total jobs at 23.0%, followed by those in their 40s (22.2%), those in their 30s (21.9%), those aged 60 and above (19.2%), and those aged 20 and under (13.6%).
By industry, employment weakness continued in construction (-52,000 jobs).
On the other hand, notable increases were seen in health and social welfare (127,000), accommodation and food services (59,000), and professional, scientific, and technical services (37,000).
An official from the National Data Office explained, "In the case of the accommodation and food services sector, factors such as an increase in foreign visitors to Korea had an impact."
Manufacturing accounted for the largest share of jobs at 20.6%, followed by health and social welfare (13.4%), wholesale and retail trade (10.5%), construction (7.9%), and business and rental services (7.0%).
For the semiconductor sector, which has shown an unprecedented boom, wage-based jobs increased by 5,000, ranking second among manufacturing sub-sectors, just behind other food products (6,000).
The growth rate stood at 2.8%, trailing aquatic products processing (3.9%), other food products (3.7%), and fruit and vegetable processing (3.7%).
Semiconductors accounted for 4.1% of total manufacturing jobs, up 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier, but remained lower than new automotive parts (7.1%) and on par with other food products (4.1%).
This indicates that despite the booming economic conditions, the semiconductor industry itself does not have a massive job-creation capacity.
Looking at age and industry breakdowns, wage-based jobs for those aged 20 and under declined particularly in manufacturing (-26,000), public administration (-14,000), and information and communications (-14,000).
For those aged 60 and above, increases were centered around health and social welfare (93,000) and manufacturing (27,000).
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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