Employment Rises by 139,000 in October; Youth Employment Rate Falls for 30th Straight Month (Updated)

The number of employed people in October rose by 139,000 from a year earlier, marking a fourth consecutive month of increases in the 100,000 range. The employment rate among young people fell for the 30th consecutive month, extending the employment gap between age groups.

According to the October 2026 Employment Trends released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on November 11, the number of employed people aged 15 and older stood at 29,179,000, up 139,000 (0.5%) from the same month a year earlier. The increase in the number of employed people grew by 26,000 in October from 113,000 in September.

The KB Good Job Job Fair was held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on April 27. Many job seekers attending the fair are lining up for interviews. April 27, 2026. Photo by Yoon Dongju

By industry, health and social work services saw the largest increase, with employment rising by 249,000 (7.5%). Employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 48,000 (2.8%), while employment in business facilities management, business support, and rental services rose by 37,000 (2.6%). Real estate and finance and insurance also added 28,000 and 24,000 employed people, respectively.

By contrast, accommodation and food services saw the largest decline, with employment falling by 137,000 (5.8%). Agriculture, forestry, and fishing lost 101,000 jobs (6.9%), while construction and education services declined by 42,000 (2.2%) and 36,000 (1.9%), respectively. Manufacturing employment also fell by 7,000.

By age group, employment among people in their 20s fell by 203,000 from the same month a year earlier, while the number of employed people in their 40s decreased by 32,000. In contrast, employment increased by 196,000 among those aged 60 and older, 128,000 among those in their 30s, and 42,000 among those in their 50s. In particular, the number of employed young people aged 15 to 29 fell by 196,000. The number of employed young people declined for the 48th consecutive month, while the youth employment rate fell for the 30th consecutive month.

The overall employment rate also edged down. The employment rate for people aged 15 and older was 63.3%, down 0.1 percentage point from the same month a year earlier. However, the employment rate for people aged 15 to 64, the measure used for comparison by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), rose by 0.3 percentage point to 70.4%. The employment rate for this age group improved, led by people in their 30s and 50s.

The number of unemployed people last month was 602,000, down 56,000 (8.5%) from the same month a year earlier. The unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage point to 2.0%. The youth unemployment rate also edged down by 0.1 percentage point to 5.2%. The economically inactive population totaled 16,299,000, up 179,000 from a year earlier. By activity status, the number of people enrolled in or attending educational courses increased by 131,000, while the number of elderly people rose by 68,000. The number of discouraged job seekers was 340,000, down 27,000 from the same month a year earlier.

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