The employment rate of those aged 15 to 29 fell to 42.9% last month. For October, it is the lowest in six years, since October 2020 (42.3%). The figure is down 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier.
The youth employment rate has been falling for 30 months since May 2024. The number of employed young people fell by 196,000, a decline that has continued for 48 months.
The National Data Agency released its 'October 2026 Employment Trends' on the 11th. Total employed persons last month came to 29,179,000, up 139,000 from the same month a year earlier. The number has risen for five consecutive months since June.
The employment rate for those aged 15 and older was 63.3%, down 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier. Still, it is the second highest for October since records began in July 1982. The employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 rose 0.3 percentage point to 70.4%, the highest for October since records began in 1989.
Indicators for those aged 15 to 34, defined as youth under the Special Act on the Promotion of Youth Employment, showed a similar trend. The government has been publishing figures on this new basis since September. The number of employed in this age group fell by 131,000, a decline for 30 consecutive months. The employment rate fell 0.6 percentage point to 55.4%, the tenth straight monthly decline.
Fortunes also diverged by age group. The number of employed people in their 20s fell by 203,000 and in their 40s by 32,000. Those aged 60 and older rose by 196,000. Those in their 30s and 50s also rose, by 128,000 and 42,000, respectively. These age groups drove the overall increase in employment.
By industry, health and social welfare services grew by 249,000 (7.5%). Transportation and warehousing rose by 48,000 (2.8%). Business facilities management, business support and rental services also rose by 37,000 (2.6%).
Among declining industries, accommodation and food services fell the most, by 137,000 (-5.8%), the largest drop since February 2021 (-232,000). The agency attributed this to a base effect from the large jump in employment last year due to the livelihood recovery consumption coupons.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing fell by 101,000 (-6.9%) and construction by 42,000 (-2.2%). Manufacturing also fell by 7,000 (-0.2%). Manufacturing had returned to growth in September for the first time in two years and three months, but turned down again after a month.
Bin Hyeon-jun, head of the agency's social statistics bureau, explained that continued declines in accommodation and food services, which have a high share of young workers, have kept youth employment falling for three years and eight months. He said the youth population fell by 141,000, but the drop in employment was larger, so the employment rate also fell for 30 straight months.
Bin added, “Along with industrial factors, a preference for experienced hires in new recruitment and the spread of rolling recruitment culture are continuously affecting the decline in youth employment and the fall in the employment rate.”
The number of unemployed was 602,000, down 56,000 (-8.5%). The unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage point to 2.0%. The number of unemployed young people fell by 17,000, the first decline in six months since April (-23,000). The youth unemployment rate was 5.2%.
The population not in the labor force was 16,299,000, up 179,000 (1.1%) over a year. Those who were 'just resting' fell by 69,000 (-2.7%). In contrast, those in school or training rose by 131,000 (3.9%) and the elderly by 68,000 (2.7%). Discouraged job seekers fell by 27,000 to 340,000.