Employment Up by 184,000, But Youth Job Slump Persists and Domestic Demand Weakens

The number of employed people increased by nearly 200,000 in August, showing a recovery trend.

Although slumps in construction and manufacturing continued, the scale of decline narrowed.

However, the employment slump for young adults persisted, and accommodation and food services, a sector tied to domestic demand, shifted to a downward trend.

According to the August Employment Trends released by Statistics Korea today (the 9th), the number of employed people aged 15 and older last month stood at 29.151 million, an increase of 184,000 from the same month last year.

After maintaining an increase of 100,000 to 200,000 from January to March this year, the growth pace of employed people slowed to 74,000 in April and fell by 40,000 in May.

It subsequently turned upward with a 63,000 increase in June and rose to the 100,000 range with 108,000 in July.

The scale of the increase in employed people last month was the largest in five months since March (206,000).

The employment rate for those aged 15 and older remained flat at 63.3%.

This is the highest level for an August since monthly statistics began to be compiled in 1982.

By industry, manufacturing employment fell by 38,000, declining for the 26th consecutive month.

However, the scale of the decline has been gradually narrowing.

Construction employment decreased by 32,000, but similarly, the scale of the decline shrank compared to the previous month.

Accommodation and food services, a domestic-demand sector, dropped by 61,000, marking the largest decline in 13 months.

Statistics Korea explained that this was due to a base effect stemming from the livelihood recovery consumption coupons issued last year.

Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries also decreased by 109,000.

On the other hand, increases were seen in health and social welfare services (186,000), arts, sports, and recreation services (73,000), and business support services (45,000).

By age group, employment among young adults aged 15 to 29 dropped by 143,000, continuing a downward trend for the 46th consecutive month.

The scale of the decline appeared to have narrowed.

The youth employment rate fell by 1.0 percentage points to 44.1%.

This marks a decline for 28 consecutive months.

Bin Hyun-jun, director general of the Social Statistics Bureau at Statistics Korea, said, "Although the arts and sports sectors saw an increase, youth employment declined due to drops in industries heavily populated by jobs sought by young people, such as information and communications, and manufacturing."

The youth unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 5.4%.

This is the highest for an August in four years since 2022 (5.4%).

Director General Bin explained, "Amid the continuing decline in the (youth) employment rate, application filings for civil service exams during the survey period showed an increase in applicants for police and local government Grade 7 positions compared to the past," adding, "The unemployment rate rose due to expanded recruitment in the public sector and an upward trend in newly sought job openings."

Individuals who are not working but are actively engaged in job-seeking activities are classified as unemployed.

The youth economic participation rate dropped by 0.8 percentage points to 46.6%.

This is the lowest for an August in six years since 2020 (46.4%).

Total unemployed people stood at 588,000, down 4,000 from the same month last year.

The unemployment rate was 2.0%, unchanged from a year ago.

The economically inactive population rose by 77,000 to 16.297 million, but among them, the population of those who "rested" decreased by 89,000.

The number of young people in the "resting" category fell by 51,000.

Statistics Korea analyzed this as a trend of individuals engaging in job searches and gradually shifting into the unemployed category.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.