November Business Workers Increased by 81,000... Construction Slump Causes Two Consecutive Months of 'Lowest'

Last Month Workforce 20.164 Million
Construction and Retail Sectors Continue Decline

Total Wage per Person 3.922 Million Won
Real Wage Increased 2.1% to 3.42 Million Won

Last month, the number of workers in domestic businesses increased by only 81,000. Following the record lowest increase in 43 months in October (92,000), the record was broken again this month. This is a result of the overall poor economic situation, including a decrease in workers due to the construction industry downturn.

Buildings densely clustered around Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. This image is unrelated to the article content.

According to the 'November 2024 Business Labor Force Survey Results' announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 30th, as of the last business day of last month, the number of workers in businesses with one or more employees was 20,164,000, an increase of 81,000 (0.4%) compared to the same month last year. In October, the number of workers (20,173,000) increased by only 92,000, showing the lowest increase since March 2021 (74,000), and this figure was even lower, breaking the record for the lowest increase in 44 months again.

Kim Jae-hoon, head of the Labor Market Survey Division at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "The three survey trends, including the Statistics Korea Economically Active Population Survey and the employment insurance administrative statistics announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, all show a slowdown in the growth trend." He added, "the biggest reason is the poor condition of the construction industry," explaining, "a large number of workers are leaving the construction sector." He also added, "Changes in population structure are naturally included."

In fact, last month, the number of workers decreased in industries such as ▲construction (-80,000, -5.3%), ▲wholesale and retail trade (-12,000, -0.5%), and ▲information and communication (-8,000, -1.0%). On the other hand, industries such as ▲healthcare and social welfare services (98,000, 4.2%), ▲business facility management, business support and rental services (20,000, 1.6%), and ▲professional, scientific and technical services (18,000, 1.3%) saw increases.

The manufacturing industry, which has the highest proportion of workers across all industries (about 19%), maintained a level similar to the same month last year. Specifically, ▲other transportation equipment manufacturing (11,000), ▲medical substances and pharmaceutical manufacturing (2,000), and ▲automobile and trailer manufacturing (2,000) increased, while ▲textile product manufacturing (-4,000), ▲apparel, accessories, and fur product manufacturing (-4,000), and ▲non-metallic mineral product manufacturing (-2,000) decreased.

By employment status, the number of regular workers increased by 53,000 (0.3%) compared to the same month last year, temporary and daily workers increased by 14,000 (0.7%), and other workers increased by 14,000 (1.2%). By size, regular workers in businesses with fewer than 300 employees numbered 16,779,000, an increase of 62,000 (0.4%), and those in businesses with 300 or more employees numbered 3,385,000, an increase of 20,000 (0.6%).

Last month, the number of new hires was 83,000, a decrease of 34,000 (-3.7%) compared to the same month last year. The number of job changes was 884,000, a decrease of 31,000 (-3.4%). The hiring rate and job change rate last month were both 4.7%, each down by 0.2 percentage points.

In October, the total wage per worker at businesses with one or more regular employees was 3,922,000 KRW, an increase of 3.4% (130,000 KRW). The total wage per regular worker increased by 3.7% (150,000 KRW) to 4,168,000 KRW, but for temporary and daily workers, it decreased by 2.3% (-43,000 KRW) to 1,816,000 KRW. Relatively high wages were observed in the finance and insurance industry (6,456,000 KRW) and the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply industry (5,707,000 KRW).

The real wage per worker, reflecting the price level, was 3,420,000 KRW, an increase of 2.1% (72,000 KRW). After showing an increasing trend since March (-0.2%), it seemed to decline in September (-1.9%) but recovered within a month. The nominal wage was 3,922,000 KRW, an increase of 3.4% (130,000 KRW).

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