July Employment Increases by 108,000... Youth Unemployment Hits Four-Year High (Comprehensive)

Ministry of Data and Statistics Releases July Employment Trends
Total Number of Employed Rises for Two Consecutive Months
Youth Employment Drops for 45 Months, Youth Employment Rate Declines for 27 Straight Months

Although the number of employed persons increased for the second consecutive month in July, recovering to an increase of over 100,000, the employment rate continued to decline for the fourth consecutive month. In particular, the youth (ages 15-29) unemployment rate saw its largest rise in five and a half years, indicating ongoing employment difficulties for young people.

According to the "July Employment Trends" released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on August 12, the number of employed persons last month was 29,136,000, an increase of 108,000 compared to the same month last year. The increase in employment numbers turned positive in June (up 63,000) after recording a negative growth in May (down 40,000), and with July regaining an increase of over 100,000, it marked two consecutive months of growth.

Despite the overall recovery in employment, employment indicators for young people severely deteriorated. Last month, the number of employed youths fell by 191,000 compared to a year earlier, marking the 45th consecutive month of decline since November 2022. The youth employment rate dropped by 1.6 percentage points to 44.2%, continuing a downward trend for 27 straight months since May 2024. The youth unemployment rate rose by 1.3 percentage points to 6.8% compared to the same month last year, reaching its highest level in four years since July 2022. The increase in the unemployment rate marked the largest in five and a half years.

Bing Hyunjun, Director of the Social Statistics Bureau at the Ministry of Data and Statistics, explained the reasons for the rise in youth unemployment rate, stating, "During the survey week, civil service examinations were held, and there was concurrent expansion in public sector recruitment for positions such as delinquency managers and farmland inspectors. Additionally, there was an increase in new job postings on platforms such as Worknet. As job-seeking activities increased mainly among young people, the unemployment rate rose." The main reason is that the non-economically active population, who had not been seeking work, began looking for jobs in response to exams and recruitment drives, thus becoming categorized and counted as "unemployed" in the statistics.

On the 27th, job seekers participating in the '2026 Public Institution Job Information Fair' held at aT Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, visit the National Health Insurance Service to obtain employment information. 2026.1.27 Photo by Kang Jinhyung

By industry, employment increased in health and social welfare services (up 173,000), arts, sports and leisure-related services (up 48,000), and public administration, national defense, and social security administration (up 46,000). In contrast, employment decreased in agriculture, forestry and fisheries (down 80,000), manufacturing (down 68,000), and construction (down 57,000). Notably, the number of people employed in manufacturing and construction has decreased for 25 and 27 consecutive months, respectively, indicating continued deterioration in employment conditions. However, the decline rate compared to the previous month narrowed for both manufacturing (from minus 97,000 to minus 68,000) and construction (from minus 67,000 to minus 57,000).

By age group, employment increased among people aged 60 and over (up 231,000), those in their 30s (up 65,000), and those in their 50s (up 33,000). On the other hand, employment decreased among those in their 20s (down 204,000) and 40s (down 31,000). Among wage workers, the number of regular employees increased by 71,000, while temporary employees (down 40,000) and daily workers (down 41,000) declined. Among non-wage workers, both self-employed persons with employees (up 75,000) and self-employed persons without employees (up 75,000) increased, while unpaid family workers (down 32,000) decreased. Director Bing noted, "Considering that the number of regular employees, which are relatively better jobs among wage earners, increased, and that self-employed persons with employees increased by about 75,000 among non-wage earners, it would be difficult to conclude that the quality of the overall employment structure has particularly worsened."

Last month, the overall employment rate for those aged 15 and over was 63.3%, a 0.1 percentage point decline from the same month a year earlier. Conversely, the employment rate for those aged 15–64, according to the OECD comparison standard, was 70.3%, a 0.1 percentage point increase compared to the same month last year. During the same period, the total number of unemployed people was 776,000, an increase of 50,000 (6.9%) compared to the same period last year. The unemployment rate was 2.6%, up 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier. The economically inactive population was 16,103,000, an increase of 99,000 from the previous year. Among the economically inactive population, the number of people categorized as "resting" stood at 2,518,000, a decrease of 62,000 from a year ago. The number of discouraged job seekers was 378,000, decreasing by 18,000.

The government plans to closely analyze employment trends by industry and social group and mobilize policy resources across all ministries to sustain the stable growth in the number of employed persons. A government official stated, "After consultations with relevant ministries, we will promptly prepare and announce the 'Youth Employment Recovery Plan,' which is currently in preparation, and will also devise separate countermeasures for industries such as manufacturing, construction, and agriculture, forestry and fisheries, where employment sluggishness continues."

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