The number of employed people increased by 113,000 in September, showing an increase of 100,000 for the third consecutive month.
Employment in the manufacturing industry increased for the first time in two years and three months, but employment in the lodging and restaurant industry decreased the most in five years and seven months.
According to the 'September Employment Trends' announced by the National Data Agency on the 16th, the number of employed people over the age of 15 last month was 29.266 million, an increase of 113,000 compared to the same month last year.
The number of employed people decreased by 40,000 in May of this year, but turned upward by increasing by 63,000 in June. After rising to 108,000 in July, the increase continued to exceed 100,000 for three months following August (184,000).
The employment rate for those aged 15 and older fell 0.2 percentage points (p) to 63.5%.
The employment rate for those aged 15 to 64, which is the standard for comparison with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), rose 0.2 percentage points to 70.6%. This is the highest level as of September since it was created in 1989.
By industry, the number of employed in manufacturing increased by 16,000, marking the first increase since June 2024 (9,000), breaking a 26-month streak of decline.
Director Bin Hyun-joon explained, “There was a decrease in automobiles and textile products, but an increase in chemical products, metal processing, and other transportation equipment.”
The number of employed people in the construction industry decreased by 48,000.
The accommodation and restaurant industry, which is a domestic industry, decreased by 97,000 people, showing a decline for two consecutive months. This is the largest decrease since February 2021 (232,000 people). Data Center explained that this was due to the base effect, which saw a large increase in employment due to the issuance of consumption coupons last year.
Although there was a base effect with an increase of 312,000 people in September last year, the situation is relatively good.
Bin Hyun-joon, head of Social Statistics at the Data Center, said, “The number of employed decreased in industries where consumption coupons are effective, but the increase in online shopping and transportation and warehousing increased to offset this, so the slowdown in the increase in employed was less than expected.”
By age, the number of employed youth aged 15 to 29 decreased by 147,000, continuing the decline for 47 months. The number of employed people has decreased in industries such as information and communications, health and welfare, and wholesale and retail.
The youth employment rate fell 1.1 percentage points to 44.0%. It has been falling for 29 consecutive months.
The total number of unemployed people was 600,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the same month last year.
The unemployment rate fell 0.1% point to 2.0%.
It is the lowest since September 1999.
The economically inactive population increased by 179,000 to 16.188 million. Among these, the number of ‘rested’ people decreased by 25,000.
Regarding the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on jobs, Director Bin Hyun-joon said, "It is not yet clear on the indicators, but looking at existing studies, there were reports that there was an impact of AI in the beginning, but these days, it is judged to be unclear." He added, "There are jobs that are reduced due to AI, but there are also jobs that are increasing, so I think there is an offset."
This month, the Data Center began separately publishing employment statistics for people aged 15 to 34, newly defined as young people, following the revision of the Special Act on Youth Employment Promotion.
As the scope of youth was expanded, the deterioration in youth employment appears to have significantly eased. Some even point out that it is an ‘optical illusion effect’.
In September, the number of employed people aged 15 to 34 decreased by 98,000 from a year ago. The decline was smaller than the existing definition of youth aged 15 to 29 (-147,000 people).
The youth employment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 56.1%. This is also a smaller decline compared to those aged 15 to 29 (-1.1%p).
The number of unemployed people increased by 5,000 from a year ago. The unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 4.2%. As expected, the figure is better than that of those aged 15 to 29 (15,000 more unemployed, 0.6% point increase in unemployment rate).
Director Bin Hyun-jun said, “People in their early 30s have more job stability than those in their 15s to 29s, which offset the decline in the employment rate and somewhat slowed the rise in the unemployment rate.”
Looking at employment trends in the third quarter of this year (July to September), the number of employed people increased by 135,000 compared to the same period a year ago. The number of unemployed people increased by 4,000.
