20.13 Million Business Workers in July... Manufacturing Growth Rate Decreases by 1%P

Ministry of Employment July Business Workforce Survey
Decrease in Workers in Accommodation, Food Services, and Construction Industries

The number of workers employed by domestic businesses has remained in the 0% growth range since last May. Last month's growth rate was 0.7%, an improvement from the previous month but essentially at a 'maintenance' level. In the manufacturing sector (0.2%), which has a high proportion of workers, the year-on-year growth rate decreased by 1.0 percentage point.

Citizens on their way to work at Sejongno Intersection, Seoul, last May [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the "July Business Labor Survey" released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 29th, as of the end of last month, the number of workers in businesses with one or more employees was 20,131,000, an increase of 0.7% (134,000 people) compared to the same month last year.

The growth rate of the number of workers has been declining since it fell to the 1% range in August last year. Since last May, it has remained in the 0% range. In June, the growth rate was only 0.6% (128,000 people), marking the lowest figure in 39 months since March 2012.

By employment status, the number of regular employees (16,771,000) increased by 0.4% (62,000 people) compared to the same month last year. Temporary and daily workers (1,989,000) increased by 2.2% (43,000 people), and other workers (1,238,000) increased by 2.4% (30,000 people). Other workers include those who receive no fixed salary but earn tips or sales commissions, or those who work without pay to acquire job skills.

By industry, health and social welfare services (3.9%), professional, scientific, and technical services (1.9%), and business facility management, business support, and rental services (1.6%) showed the highest growth rates. Conversely, accommodation and food services (-2.7%), construction (-1.5%), and associations, repair, and other personal services (-0.9%) all showed declines.

In the manufacturing sector, which has the highest proportion of workers across all industries, the number of workers recorded 3,767,000, an increase of 0.2% (9,000 people) compared to the same month last year. The growth rate in manufacturing was higher than the previous month (0.1%) but remained 1.0 percentage point lower than the same month last year (1.2%).

By business size, the number of workers in businesses with fewer than 300 regular employees increased by 0.7% (114,000 people) to 17,756,000. The number of workers in businesses with 300 or more employees increased by 0.6% (20,000 people) to 3,375,000.

Excluding other workers, the number of new hires last month was 1,010,000, a decrease of 0.6% (6,000 people) compared to the same month last year. The number of separations was 1,006,000, showing a similar level to the same month last year. The hiring and separation rates were 5.4% and 5.3%, respectively, showing little change from July last year.

By region, the number of workers in businesses with one or more employees increased in most areas, including Gyeonggi and Gyeongnam. Notably, Sejong (3.5%), Gyeongnam (1.9%), and Gyeonggi (1.7%) showed prominent growth. Conversely, Seoul (-0.8%) and Jeju (-0.5%) showed a declining trend. Both regions also experienced a decrease in the number of workers in the previous month.

The Business Labor Survey aims to examine the number of workers, new hires, separations, wages, and working hours from the labor demand side (businesses) every month. It serves as basic data for labor policy and an indicator for economic outlook.

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