In Real Estate Slump... Jobs for 40s, the 'Economic Backbone,' Decline After 4 Years

Job Growth Rate Declines for Six Consecutive Quarters

As the real estate market downturn deepens, the number of jobs for people in their 40s, known as the "backbone of the economy," has turned to a decrease for the first time in four years. The rate of job growth has declined for six consecutive quarters.

According to the "2023 Q3 (as of August) Wage Worker Job Trends" released by Statistics Korea on the 21st, the total number of wage worker jobs was 20,542,000, an increase of 346,000 compared to the same period last year.

Job seekers participating in the '2023 Gangnam-gu Job Fair' held at the Gangnam Employment and Startup Hub Center in Seoul on the 13th are looking at the recruitment bulletin board. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Although the increase in the number of jobs remained in the 300,000 range following the previous quarter (379,000), the growth rate has slowed. The number of wage worker jobs peaked at 752,000 in Q1 last year and has seen a slowdown in growth for six consecutive quarters.

By age group, the elderly led the job growth, while jobs for youth and those in their 40s actually decreased. Jobs increased by 269,000 for those aged 60 and over, 99,000 for those in their 50s, and 62,000 for those in their 30s. Conversely, jobs for youth aged 20 and under decreased by 80,000, and those in their 40s decreased by 4,000.

The decrease in the number of jobs for people in their 40s is the first in four years since Q3 2019. The number of jobs for people in their 40s notably declined in construction (-19,000) and real estate (-6,000). It appears to have been directly hit by the worsening real estate market. A Statistics Korea official explained, "Because the (real estate) market is currently so bad, jobs in construction and real estate have significantly decreased."

Jobs for those aged 20 and under have been declining for four consecutive quarters since Q4 last year. Decreases were seen in wholesale and retail (-22,000), business and rental services (-13,000), and information and communications (-10,000).

Looking at the major business categories overall, jobs increased by 105,000 in health and social welfare, 50,000 in manufacturing, and 45,000 in accommodation and food services, but decreased by 6,000 in real estate and 1,000 in electricity and gas. By medium categories, social welfare services increased by 70,000, restaurants and bars by 42,000, and health services by 36,000, while general construction decreased by 11,000, retail excluding automobiles by 8,000, and real estate by 6,000.

By gender, jobs increased by 123,000 for men and 222,000 for women. By organizational type, jobs provided by corporate entities increased by 232,000, those provided by non-corporate entities by 69,000, jobs provided by government and non-profit organizations by 44,000, and jobs provided by individual enterprises by 2,000.

The term "job" refers to an employment position occupied by a worker and is distinct from "employed persons." For example, if one person works at a company during the week and works as an academy instructor on weekends, the number of employed persons is one, but the number of jobs is counted as two.

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