184,000 More People Employed in August... Youth Employment Declines for 46 Consecutive Months (Comprehensive)

Employment Rate for Ages 15 and Above Hits 63.3%, Highest on Record for August
Youth Employment Rate Falls to 44.1%, Marking 28 Consecutive Months of Decline

Last month, the number of employed people increased by 184,000 compared to a year earlier, marking three consecutive months of growth. The overall employment rate for August reached the highest level on record since relevant statistics began being compiled for that month. However, employment among the youth (aged 15 to 29) continued to decline for the 46th consecutive month, while the youth unemployment rate rose to the highest level in four years, reflecting a continued employment freeze for young people.

According to the "August Employment Trends" released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on September 9, the number of employed persons last month stood at 29,151,000, an increase of 184,000 compared to the same month a year ago. After the number of employed fell by 40,000 in May, it rebounded to positive growth in June (up 63,000), then continued to rise in July (up 108,000), and again in August, marking three straight months of increases. Notably, the growth in August was 76,000 higher than in July.

The employment rate for those aged 15 and over was 63.3%, unchanged from the same month last year. This is the highest August figure since monthly statistics began in July 1982. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standard (ages 15-64), the employment rate was 70.4%, up by 0.5 percentage points year-on-year. This is also the highest August figure since relevant statistics began in 1989. The number of employed people aged 15-64 was 24.54 million, which is a decrease of 79,000 from a year earlier. However, the employment rate rose due to a decrease of 326,000 in the population of this age group.

By industry, employment increased in health and social welfare services (up 186,000), arts, sports and leisure-related services (up 73,000), and business facilities management and business support services (up 45,000). On the other hand, employment declined in agriculture, forestry, and fishing (down 109,000), accommodation and food services (down 61,000), manufacturing (down 38,000), and construction (down 32,000). Employment in manufacturing has been decreasing for 26 consecutive months, and construction for 28 consecutive months.

Youth employment continued to be weak. Last month, the number of employed young people was 3,428,000, down 143,000 from a year ago and marking a 46-month downward streak. The youth employment rate also fell to 44.1%, down by 1.0 percentage point year-on-year and decreasing for the 28th consecutive month. Bin Hyunjun, director of social statistics at the Ministry of Data and Statistics, explained, "The rise in youth unemployment can be attributed to civil service exam applications during the survey period. In particular, there was an increase in the number of applicants for local government police and level 7 positions compared to past years."

The KB Good Job Employment Fair was held on the 27th at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Many job seekers visiting the fair are checking the job posting boards. 2026.04.27 Photo by Dongju Yoon

The number of unemployed people last month was 588,000, a decrease of 4,000 compared to the same month a year earlier. The unemployment rate stood at 2.0%, unchanged from a year ago. The number of unemployed youths was 195,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous year, and the unemployment rate for youths rose by 0.5 percentage points to 5.4%, the highest since August 2022 (5.4%)—a four-year high. During the same period, the economically inactive population rose by 77,000 to 16,297,000. The number of people saying they were "resting" dropped by 89,000 to 2,551,000 from a year earlier. While the youth employment rate continued to fall, the number of young people stating they were "resting" decreased by 51,000 year-on-year, marking seven consecutive months of decline.

Director Bin said, "Some young people who were previously classified as 'resting' may have moved into unemployment during the recent rise in unemployment rate." However, he also noted, "Government efforts to expand youth jobs through programs such as youth internships may have contributed to a reduction in youth unemployment." Still, he cautioned, "Looking at the overall indicators, it is too early to say that youth employment rates have clearly improved," and added that it would be difficult to attribute the decline in those 'resting' solely to improvements in the job market overall.

Meanwhile, the survey period last month included Liberation Day. While last year’s Liberation Day fell on a Friday, it moved to Saturday this year, resulting in significant changes in the number of employed people by working hours, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The government stated, "We will mobilize all inter-ministerial capabilities to stabilize the current trend of employment growth and improve employment conditions in vulnerable and underperforming sectors." The government also added, "Preparations for implementation, as well as promotion and advance publicity of major job projects included in next year’s budget plan—such as youth job recovery initiatives—will proceed without delay."

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