Two Years Ago, 29,000 Public New Jobs Decreased

Statistics Korea, 2022 Public Sector Employment Statistics

The proportion of employed persons presumed to have worked in the public sector two years ago was 10.2%, slightly down from the previous year. New jobs in the public sector also decreased by 29,000 compared to the previous year.

According to the "2022 Public Sector Job Statistics" released by Statistics Korea on the 18th, the ratio of public sector jobs to total employment two years ago was 10.2%, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous year.

Public sector jobs two years ago totaled 2,878,000, an increase of 39,000 (1.4%) from the previous year. However, compared to 2021 (73,000) and 2020 (164,000), the growth rate slowed. The previous administration promoted job expansion projects such as increasing firefighters, police officers, and education public officials, and implemented government job projects for vulnerable groups aged 60 and over, resulting in a steady increase in public sector jobs. On the other hand, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration emphasized a smaller government, which appears to have influenced efforts to reduce the size of public institutions.

On the 17th, job seekers listened to explanations from representatives of hiring companies at the 2024 Public Institution Recruitment Information Fair held at the aT Center in Yangjae, Seoul, which runs until the 18th. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

Public sector jobs increased by 36,000 in general government and 3,000 in public enterprises (1.5% compared to the previous year). Of the 2,878,000 public sector jobs, 2,576,000 (89.5%) were continuous jobs held by the same workers as the previous year, 235,000 (8.2%) were replacement jobs due to job changes and retirements, and 68,000 (2.4%) were newly created jobs.

Compared to the previous year, continuous jobs (68,000) and replacement jobs (1,000) increased, but new jobs (-29,000) decreased. Among new jobs, women (56.9%) outnumbered men (43.1%), and by age group, those under 29 and those aged 60 and over accounted for 59.3% of the total. In contrast, continuous jobs were dominated by those in their 30s to 50s, accounting for 79.5% of the total.

The industrial distribution of public sector jobs was as follows: public administration, defense, and social security administration (1,391,000), education and service industries (784,000), and health and social welfare services (114,000). Compared to the previous year, education and service industries saw the largest increase in jobs (19,000).

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