Non-Wage Workers Rise for First Time in 3 Years... More Business Owners in Their 30s and 70s; 35% Start with "Under KRW 5 Million"

The number of non-wage workers, including self-employed people and unpaid family workers, rose in August for the first time in three years. The share of non-wage workers among all employed people also edged up for the first time in 14 years. By age group, the number of people starting businesses increased mainly among those in their 30s and people aged 70 or older. More than one in three new self-employed people started a business with less than KRW 5 million in capital.

Yonhap News Agency

Non-wage workers total 6,625,000 in August...share of all employed people rebounds for first time in 14 years

According to the results of the August 2026 Supplementary Survey on Non-wage Work, released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on November 4, the number of non-wage workers stood at 6,625,000 in August this year, up 71,000 from the same month last year.

The number of non-wage workers in August fell for two consecutive years, from 6,724,000 in 2023 to 6,657,000 in 2024 and 6,554,000 last year, before rebounding for the first time in three years. Non-wage workers accounted for 22.7% of all employed people, up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier. This was the first year-on-year increase in the share of non-wage workers in 14 years, since 2012, when it rose by 0.1 percentage point.

The Ministry of Data and Statistics said the rebound resulted from a combination of factors, including a base effect from the sharp increase in wage workers last year following the distribution of livelihood recovery consumption coupons and signs of easing weakness in domestic demand, even as the share of non-wage workers has been on a downward trend.

By employment status, the number of self-employed people with employees rose by 47,000 to 1,481,000, while the number of solo self-employed people without employees increased by 62,000 to 4,303,000. In contrast, the number of unpaid family workers fell by 37,000 to 841,000.

More business owners in their 30s and 70s...wholesale and retail trade adds 75,000, the largest increase on record

The number of non-wage workers rose by 55,000 among people in their 30s, the largest increase of any age group, and by 23,000 among those aged 70 or older. In particular, people aged 70 or older accounted for 14.6% of non-wage workers, the highest share since the statistics were first compiled in 2007. This indicates that more older people are starting businesses to support themselves after retirement.

The number of non-wage workers aged 15 to 29 also increased by 24,000. In contrast, the number fell by 35,000 among people in their 40s, the backbone of the workforce, while the increase among those in their 50s was limited to 6,000.

By industry, wholesale and retail trade led the increase, adding 75,000 workers. This was the largest increase since the industry classification was revised in 2013, and is believed to reflect a base effect after the number of self-employed people in the sector had declined steadily. The numbers also increased in professional, scientific and technical services (25,000), transportation and storage (20,000), and arts and sports (20,000). In contrast, they fell in agriculture, forestry and fishing (-94,000), accommodation and food services (-47,000), and manufacturing (-38,000).

The average operating (affiliation) period for non-wage workers was 15 years and 2 months, down 3 months from the same month a year earlier. The share who said they intended to continue their current work was 86.6%, up 0.1 percentage point. The National Pension Service enrollment rate among self-employed people, including beneficiaries, rose by 1.4 percentage points to 83.3%, the highest since the statistics were first compiled in 2013.

35% of new businesses launched with less than KRW 5 million...clear trend toward small-scale businesses for livelihood

Among self-employed people who started a business within the past year, 47.0% spent between 1 and less than 3 months preparing, up 2.2 percentage points from a year earlier. Nearly half entered the business world in a hurry, having spent less than six months preparing.

The most common reason for starting a business was "wanting to run one's own business," cited by 70.8%. However, 21.7% said they did so because it was difficult to find a job as a wage worker. In particular, the share who chose to start a business involuntarily because of the difficulty of finding a job rose by 3.8 percentage points from a year earlier.

Most new businesses were small-scale ventures launched with limited capital. The largest share, 35.2%, started with less than KRW 5 million, followed by 19.8% with between KRW 5 million and less than KRW 20 million. More than half (55.0%) of new self-employed people started their businesses with less than KRW 20 million. The remaining categories were between KRW 20 million and less than KRW 50 million (16.8%), between KRW 50 million and less than KRW 100 million (17.3%), between KRW 100 million and less than KRW 300 million (8.6%), and KRW 300 million or more (2.4%).

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