Jobs Surge in Non-Metropolitan Areas While Growth Slows in Metropolitan Region... 33-Fold Gap in Employment Increase in Second Half

Non-metropolitan Employment Rises by 200,000
Job Growth Led by Service Sector
Youth Employment Rate Up by 0.8 Percentage Points

In the second half of last year, the number of employed people in non-metropolitan areas increased by 200,000, which is 33 times the growth seen in the metropolitan area. Supported by a recovery in local consumption, employment rose mainly in the service sector, accompanied by a rise in the number of regular employees and improvements in youth employment rates.

Yonhap News Agency

According to the government and the Ministry of Data and Statistics on April 7, the number of employed people in non-metropolitan regions increased by 200,000 in the second half of last year compared to the same period one year earlier. This is a significant increase from the 98,000 jobs added in the first half. In contrast, the increase in employment in the metropolitan area decreased from 83,000 in the first half to just 6,000 in the second half.

Nationwide, the number of employed people grew by 206,000 in the second half of last year. The vast majority of this growth occurred in non-metropolitan areas. The employment rate in non-metropolitan regions was 63.2%, up 0.8 percentage points from the first half, surpassing the metropolitan area's 63.0% and the national average of 63.1%.

The government explained that employment in local service industries improved thanks to policies such as the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon, preferential support for local gift certificates, and strategies to promote local consumption and mutual growth.

In fact, the number of people employed in the service sector in non-metropolitan areas grew by 330,000 in the second half of last year, twice the increase seen in the metropolitan area, which was 169,000. Employment in wholesale and retail trade, as well as accommodation and food service sectors, also rebounded in non-metropolitan areas, rising by 14,000 after a decrease in the first half. In the metropolitan area, employment in these sectors continued to decline in both halves of the year.

The quality of employment also improved in certain aspects. The number of regular employees in non-metropolitan areas increased by 200,000 in the second half, an even greater rise than in the first half. The number of self-employed people with employees also increased by 9,000.

While youth employment remained sluggish overall, the situation was relatively better in non-metropolitan areas. The decline in the number of employed young people in non-metropolitan regions narrowed from 38,000 in the first half to 8,000 in the second half, and the employment rate rose by 0.8 percentage points from 41.8% to 42.6%. In contrast, the decrease in youth employment in the metropolitan area remained at around 155,000 in the second half, with the employment rate dropping by 1.2 percentage points from 48.0% to 46.8%.

However, sluggish trends in the construction and manufacturing sectors persisted in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. The number of people employed in construction nationwide fell by 104,000 in the second half of last year, and employment in manufacturing and other industrial sectors declined by 59,000. However, while industrial sector employment in the metropolitan area decreased by 68,000, it actually increased by 9,000 in non-metropolitan areas.

The government assessed that the recovery in domestic demand is leading to greater job creation in local service industries, along with improvements in job quality. President Lee Jaemyung also instructed the government at a cabinet meeting the previous day to conduct a thorough analysis of the reasons behind the increase in local employment.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.