Unstable Increase in September Employment Numbers... 'Economic Backbone' People in Their 40s Decline for Third Consecutive Month

Number of Employed Increased by 700,000 YoY but Growth Slows for Four Consecutive Months
Worsening Employment Quality and Economic Downturn Concerns Heighten Anxiety

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The number of employed people in their 40s, considered the "economic backbone," has decreased for three consecutive months until last month. The youth unemployment rate also rose in September. Although the number of employed people increased by nearly 710,000 compared to a year ago, the growth rate has slowed for four consecutive months, and the quality of employment has deteriorated, signaling signs of instability in the job market amid concerns of an economic downturn.

According to the "September Employment Trends" released by Statistics Korea on the 14th, the number of employed people last month was 28,389,000, an increase of 707,000 compared to the same period last year. This is the largest increase in 23 years since September 1999 (935,000) for the same month.

Despite this favorable employment trend, it is difficult to guarantee continued employment growth. The quality of employment is gradually worsening. The number of employed people aged 60 and over increased by 451,000 compared to the same period last year, accounting for 63.8% of the total increase last month. This was followed by those in their 50s (166,000), 30s (91,000), and under 20s (16,000). On the other hand, the number of employed people in their 40s, the backbone of the Korean economy, decreased by 17,000. The change in the number of employed people in their 40s has been declining for three consecutive months: 2,000 in June, -1,000 in July, -8,000 in August, and -17,000 in September. Furthermore, the number of employed people aged 60 and over is likely to increase at a slower rate in the future due to the government's policy to reduce public-type senior jobs.

The slowdown in the overall increase in the number of employed people is also a factor that heightens concerns about the job market. The monthly increase in the number of employed people dropped from 935,000 in May to 841,000 in June, 826,000 in July, 807,000 in August, and fell to the 700,000 range in September.

Although the unemployment rate indicator is at an all-time low, the number of unemployed youth and the youth unemployment rate have also risen. Last month, the unemployment rate was 2.4%, down 0.3 percentage points from the same period last year, marking the lowest level since June 1999 for the same month. The number of unemployed people also decreased by 52,000 to 704,000. However, among the youth (ages 15-29), the number of unemployed increased by 35,000 compared to a year ago, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.7 percentage points to 6.1% during the same period.

Gong Misook, Director of the Social Statistics Bureau at Statistics Korea, said regarding the future sustainability of employment growth, "The September employment trends show that the number of employed people increased but the growth rate slowed," adding, "There is a lot of uncertainty, making it difficult to forecast."

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