According to the Statistics Korea report on December and the annual employment trends, the number of employed individuals in major industries decreased significantly. In December, the construction industry saw a reduction of 157,000 jobs, manufacturing lost 97,000 jobs, and the retail and wholesale sectors decreased by 96,000 jobs. Overall, last month, the total number of employed people dropped by over 50,000, marking a return to a negative trend for the first time in 3 years and 10 months.
In December 2024, the total number of employed individuals was 28,041,000, which is 52,000 fewer than the previous year. Employment increased among individuals aged 60 and over by 162,000, people in their 30s by 96,000, and those in their 50s by 4,000. Conversely, employment decreased among individuals in their 20s by 194,000 and among those in their 40s by 97,000.
The employment rate for individuals aged 15-64, according to OECD standards, was 69.4%, a 0.2 percentage point increase from the previous year. The number of unemployed persons increased by 171,000, totaling 1,115,000, raising the unemployment rate to 3.8%, up by 0.5 percentage points from the previous year. The unemployment rate for men increased to 3.1%, a rise of 0.2 percentage points, while for women it climbed to 4.7%, an increase of 1.0 percentage point.
For the entire year, the number of employed individuals was 28,576,000, marking an increase of 159,000 from the previous year. This growth rate is about half of the previous year’s figure. By industry, employment increased in healthcare and social welfare services by 83,000, information and communication by 72,000, and professional, scientific, and technical services by 65,000. However, employment decreased in retail and wholesale by 61,000, management of business facilities, business support, and rental services by 52,000, and construction by 49,000.
In terms of employment status, there was an increase in wage workers, with regular workers rising by 183,000 and temporary workers by 154,000, while daily workers decreased by 122,000. Among non-wage workers, self-employed with employees increased by 12,000, but self-employed without employees decreased by 44,000, and unpaid family workers decreased by 24,000.
The employment rate for those aged 15 and older was 62.7%, up by 0.1 percentage points from the previous year, the highest since record-keeping began in 1963. The OECD standard employment rate for those aged 15-64 also reached a record high of 69.5%, up by 0.3 percentage points from the previous year.
However, the employment rate for the youth (aged 15-29) decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 46.1%, with an unemployment rate of 2.8%, up by 0.1 percentage points from the previous year. The youth unemployment rate remained unchanged from the previous year at 5.9%.