Non-regular workers hit a "record high" of 8.67 million; wage gap reaches an all-time high of KRW 1.94 million

Ministry of Data and Statistics releases results of supplementary survey on employment types from the Economically Active Population Survey on October 21

The number of non-regular workers, driven largely by growth among older people, reached its highest level since statistics were first compiled. The wage gap with regular workers also widened to a record high, approaching KRW 2 million.

Yonhap News

According to the results of the August 2026 Supplementary Survey on Employment Types of the Economically Active Population, released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on October 21, the number of non-regular workers stood at 8.671 million in August, up 103,000 from the same month a year earlier. This was the highest figure since related statistics were first compiled in 2003, marking the third consecutive annual increase since 2024.

By contrast, the number of regular workers rose by 10,000 over the same period to 13.855 million. This means non-regular workers accounted for most of the increase in wage workers overall, which totaled 113,000. As a result, non-regular workers made up 38.5% of all wage workers (22.526 million), up 0.3 percentage points from the same month a year earlier and exceeding the previous record of 38.4% set in August 2021.

Older people drove the increase in non-regular workers. The number of non-regular workers aged 60 or older rose by 135,000 from a year earlier to 3.18 million, while their share of all non-regular workers climbed 1.2 percentage points to a record 36.7%. In particular, the number of non-regular workers aged 70 or older (1.29 million) surpassed that of those in their 40s (1.184 million). By contrast, the number of non-regular workers among young people aged 29 or younger (down 64,000) and people in their 40s (down 20,000) fell across the board, affected by population decline and a slowdown in employment.

By type of work, the number of part-time workers rose by 152,000 from a year earlier to 4.382 million. Part-time workers accounted for 50.5% of all non-regular workers, exceeding half for the first time since statistics were compiled. The number of fixed-term workers increased by 187,000 to 6.035 million, while the number of non-typical workers, including those employed through subcontracting and dispatch arrangements, fell by 48,000 to 1.786 million.

The wage polarization between regular and non-regular workers became more pronounced. Over the latest three-month period (June-August), the average monthly wage of regular workers rose by KRW 156,000 to KRW 4.052 million, surpassing KRW 4 million for the first time. In contrast, the average monthly wage of non-regular workers increased by just KRW 24,000 to KRW 2.112 million.

As a result, the wage gap between the two groups widened by KRW 132,000 from KRW 1.808 million a year earlier to KRW 1.94 million, a record high. Non-regular workers' wages as a share of regular workers' wages also fell 1.5 percentage points from a year earlier to 52.1%. However, excluding part-time workers, whose working hours are relatively short, the average monthly wage of non-regular workers was KRW 3.098 million. This narrowed the gap with regular workers to KRW 954,000, with non-regular workers earning 76.5% as much as regular workers.

Kim Rakhyeon, director of the Employment Statistics Division at the Ministry of Data and Statistics, said, "The increase in part-time jobs, which pay less than full-time jobs, and the growing share of workers aged 60 or older both contributed to the widening wage gap."

Meanwhile, the share of non-regular workers who chose their employment status voluntarily rose 0.2 percentage points from the same month a year earlier to 68.0%. The most common reason was satisfaction with working conditions (59.9%). The number of temporary workers, as defined for comparison with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), increased by 185,000 to 6.345 million, while their share of all wage workers rose 0.7 percentage points from a year earlier to 28.2%. As of last year, South Korea's share of temporary workers (27.5%) was significantly higher than those of other major advanced economies, including the Netherlands (25.8%), Japan (14.2%) and Germany (11.5%).

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