Semiconductor-Led Manufacturing Employment Rises for Second Straight Month; Youth Employment Falls for 49th Straight Month

September Labor Market Trends Based on Employment Administration Statistics

Employment in semiconductors and shipbuilding remained strong, and the number of manufacturing workers enrolled in employment insurance rose for a second consecutive month. The overall increase in manufacturing also widened, but the number still declined when foreign workers enrolled under the Employment Permit System were excluded, making it difficult to say that improving industry conditions have spread across employment as a whole.

According to the “Labor Market Trends Based on September Employment Administration Statistics,” released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on October 14, there were 15.93 million workers enrolled in employment insurance as of the end of September, up 288,000 (1.8%) from a year earlier. The increase has remained in the upper 200,000s for nine consecutive months.

By industry, services added 283,000 workers (2.6%), driving the overall increase. Within services, health and social welfare recorded the largest gain, adding 115,000 workers. The number of workers also increased in accommodation and food services (56,000), business services (27,000), educational services (22,000), and professional, scientific and technical services (21,000). The increases in health and social welfare, business services, and educational services were larger than in the previous month.

Manufacturing, in particular, continued to grow, led by semiconductors and shipbuilding. The number of manufacturing workers enrolled in employment insurance stood at 3.853 million last month, up 8,000 (0.2%) from the same month a year earlier. This marked the second consecutive monthly increase, following August. The increase also widened from 2,000 in August.

By subsector, other transport equipment, which includes shipbuilding, posted the largest gain, adding 7,500 workers. Electronics and telecommunications, which includes semiconductors, added 5,900, while machinery and equipment added 5,100. In particular, the increase in electronics and telecommunications was supported by a larger gain in semiconductors, which added 7,300 workers. Food manufacturing added 2,200 workers, although the increase was smaller than the 2,900 recorded in the previous month. By contrast, the number of workers declined in nonmetallic mineral products (-3,500), textiles (-3,100), chemicals (-2,900), and automobiles (-2,000).

However, the increase in foreign workers enrolled in employment insurance needs to be taken into account when assessing the recovery in manufacturing employment. The number of foreign workers enrolled under the Employment Permit System rose by 12,000 last month, while the number of manufacturing workers excluding them fell by 4,000. This means that even though total manufacturing employment returned to growth, employment excluding foreign workers, including domestic workers, has not yet recovered.

While conditions in shipbuilding and semiconductors have positively affected employment, weakness in construction continued. The number of construction workers enrolled in employment insurance was 742,000, down 5,900 (0.8%) from the same month a year earlier. This marked the 38th consecutive month of decline. General construction led the decrease, shedding 6,300 workers, although the decline across the construction industry as a whole narrowed from 6,800 in the previous month.

By age, the number of workers enrolled in employment insurance increased among those in their 30s (88,000), 40s (5,900), 50s (41,000), and aged 60 or older (207,000). By contrast, the number of workers aged 29 or younger fell by 54,800. However, the decline was smaller than the 55,600 recorded in the previous month. Youth enrollment has fallen for 49 consecutive months since September 2022. By gender, the number of male workers enrolled rose by 100,000 (1.2%) year over year to 8.691 million, while the number of female workers rose by 188,000 (2.7%) to 7.239 million.

The number of new job vacancies listed last month through Employment24, the integrated employment services platform, was 170,000, up 4,000 (2.7%) from a year earlier. The number of new job seekers was 357,000, down 21,000 (5.6%) from the same month a year earlier. The job openings-to-applicants ratio, which represents the number of vacancies per job seeker, was 0.48, up from 0.44 in the same month a year earlier. The ratio has risen for seven consecutive months.

There were 87,000 new applications for job-seeking benefits (unemployment benefits) last month, down 2,000 (2.5%) from the same month a year earlier. Applications declined in construction (-2,700) and manufacturing (-900). The number of benefit recipients was 601,000, down 23,000 (3.7%) year over year. Benefit payments totaled 1.0307 trillion won, down 36.6 billion won (3.4%).

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