Jobs Hit Hard by Middle East War... Number of Employed Falls for First Time in 17 Months in May (Update)

May Employment Trends Announced by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on the 11th

Youth Employment Sees Largest Decline Since COVID-19 Pandemic

The number of employed people in May decreased by 40,000 compared to a year earlier, marking the first decline in 17 months. Due to the prolonged Middle East war, manufacturing jobs saw the largest drop in seven years and three months, and youth employment continued to freeze, with the number of employed people aged 15 to 29 recording its sharpest decrease in five years and four months.

The HMM's ultra-large crude carrier (VLCC) "Universal Winner," the first Korean vessel trapped in the Strait of Hormuz since the Middle East war to exit the strait, arrived off the coast of Ulsan on the 10th for crude oil unloading and is approaching the buoy, an offshore crude oil unloading facility. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the "May Employment Trends" report released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on June 11, the number of employed people aged 15 or older last month stood at 29.12 million, a decrease of 40,000 compared to the same month last year. This is the first decline in employment since December 2024, when the figure fell by 52,000. The number of employed people increased by 108,000 in January this year, then the increase widened to over 200,000 in February and March, before shrinking to 74,000 in April. The employment rate for those aged 15 or older was 63.3 percent, down 0.5 percentage points from the same month last year, and continued to fall for the second consecutive month after a 0.2 percentage point drop in April. This was the largest decline in five years and three months since February 2021, when the rate decreased by 1.4 percentage points.

The protracted Middle East war had a significant impact. Bin Hyeonjun, director of the Department of Social Statistics at the Ministry of Data and Statistics, explained, "Due to the prolonged Middle East war, some industries experienced supply and demand disruptions, and the high oil prices affected several sectors," adding, "There is also a base effect, as the number of employed people increased significantly compared to the average in May last year."

By industry, the number of people employed in manufacturing fell by 140,000, marking a decline for 23 consecutive months. The decrease was more than twice as large as the drop in April, which was 55,000. This is the largest decline since February 2019, when employment dropped by 151,000. In particular, the number of employed people decreased in the automobile and rubber/plastic sectors. The number of employed people also declined in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector (down 121,000) and in professional, scientific, and technical services (down 89,000).

By age group, youth employment was particularly poor. The number of employed people in the youth group (aged 15 to 29) fell by 255,000 compared to the same month last year. This is the largest decrease since January 2021, when the impact of COVID-19 was severe and employment dropped by 314,000. The youth employment rate was 43.8 percent, down 2.4 percentage points from a year ago.

The number of unemployed people increased by 25,000 to 878,000, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 2.9 percent. The economically inactive population grew by 264,000, with the number of people "taking a break" rising by 47,000.

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