Job Changes in Q1: 300,000 Increase for 60s, 60,000 Decrease for Under 20s

In the first quarter of this year, the number of wage workers' jobs increased by about 457,000, but the rate of increase slowed down. Among these, jobs for seniors aged 60 and over increased by about 300,000, accounting for the largest share, while jobs for people in their 20s actually decreased compared to the previous year.

According to the '2023 First Quarter (as of February) Wage Worker Job Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 25th, the number of wage workers in the first quarter of this year was 20,207,000, an increase of 457,000 compared to the same period last year.

Wage worker jobs have been continuously increasing compared to the previous year, but the rate of increase is declining. After an increase of 752,000 jobs in the first quarter of last year compared to the previous year, the increase slowed down for four consecutive quarters: 628,000 in the second quarter, 597,000 in the third quarter, 491,000 in the fourth quarter, and continuing into the first quarter of this year.

By age group, jobs for those aged 60 and over increased by 305,000, accounting for 66.7% of the total job increase. This was followed by the 50s with 141,000 jobs, and jobs for people in their 30s and 40s also increased by 38,000 and 35,000 respectively.

However, jobs for those aged 20 and under decreased by 61,000 compared to the previous year. Jobs for those aged 20 and under declined for two consecutive quarters, following the fourth quarter of last year. In particular, in the fourth quarter of last year, jobs for those aged 20 and under decreased for the first time in seven quarters since the first quarter of 2021 (-35,000 jobs).

On the 11th, a job posting notice was posted at the Western Employment Welfare Plus Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

Specifically, jobs for those aged 60 and over increased in health and social welfare (64,000 jobs), construction (49,000 jobs), and manufacturing (48,000 jobs), while jobs for those aged 20 and under decreased in wholesale and retail (-28,000 jobs), business and rental (-18,000 jobs), and public administration (-13,000 jobs).

By industry classification, jobs increased compared to the previous year in construction (92,000 jobs), health and social welfare (87,000 jobs), and manufacturing (54,000 jobs), but decreased in public administration (-2,000 jobs) and mining (-1,000 jobs). The decrease in public administration jobs is interpreted as being influenced by the government's policy to reduce public jobs.

The share of jobs by industry is largest in manufacturing (21.2%), followed by health and social welfare (12.0%), wholesale and retail (10.7%), construction (9.4%), and business and rental (6.9%). In manufacturing, jobs increased in metal processing (10,000 jobs), electronics and telecommunications (9,000 jobs), and electrical equipment (8,000 jobs), while jobs decreased in textile products (-4,000 jobs), rubber and plastics (-3,000 jobs), and furniture (-2,000 jobs).

The proportion of continuous jobs (where the same worker has worked for more than one year) in manufacturing was 77.5%, with replacement and new jobs accounting for 12.6% and 9.9%, respectively. In the service industry, the proportion of continuous jobs was 70.9%, with replacement and new jobs accounting for 17.2% and 11.9%, respectively.

By gender, out of the total 20,207,000 jobs, men held 11,465,000 jobs and women held 8,742,000 jobs, with men having relatively more jobs. Men's jobs increased in construction (64,000 jobs), manufacturing (41,000 jobs), and professional, scientific, and technical services (28,000 jobs), while women's jobs increased in health and social welfare (73,000 jobs), construction (28,000 jobs), and accommodation and food services (25,000 jobs).

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