One in Five Wage Workers Earns Less Than 2 Million Won per Month

"Increase in Senior Jobs Due to Aging Population"
Share of Workers Earning Over 5 Million Won Per Month Up by 1.1% Points

One out of every five wage workers in South Korea still earns less than 2 million won per month. As the number of high-income workers earning over 5 million won increases, wage polarization according to income levels continues to persist.

According to the "2025 Second Half Regional Employment Survey: Characteristics of Employed Persons by Industry and Occupation" released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on April 23, the number of wage workers as of the second half of last year stood at 22,488,000, an increase of 311,000 compared to the previous year.

On the 10th, office workers returning from the Chuseok holiday are heading to work at the Sejongno intersection in Jongno-gu, Seoul. 2025.10.10 Photo by Kang Jinhyung

By wage level, the largest proportion of workers earned between 2 million and 3 million won per month (30.0%), followed by ▲3 million to 4 million won (22.3%), ▲over 5 million won (16.5%), ▲4 million to 5 million won (11.5%), ▲1 million to 2 million won (10.0%), and ▲less than 1 million won (9.8%). In other words, one in five wage workers (19.8%) earned less than 2 million won per month.

Despite the rise in nominal wages due to higher prices and an increase in the minimum wage, polarization at both the top and bottom ends of the labor market has intensified. The proportion of those earning over 5 million won per month rose by 1.1 percentage points, and the share of those earning less than 1 million won also increased by 0.2 percentage points. On the other hand, the segments earning 2 million to 3 million won (-1.6 percentage points) and 1 million to 2 million won (-0.5 percentage points) declined. A Ministry of Data and Statistics official explained, "The increase in low-wage workers appears to be influenced by the government's senior employment programs and the expansion of jobs in the non-residential welfare facility operation sector. However, the proportion of workers earning more than 3 million won per month has now surpassed 50% of the total workforce."

In fact, the majority of jobs were concentrated in low-wage sectors such as simple sales, cleaning, and care work. Breaking down employed persons by occupation for the second half of last year, the number of store sales workers increased by 38,000 from a year earlier to 1,545,000 (5.3%), representing the largest occupational group.

The number of cleaning-related workers increased by 52,000 to 1,301,000 (4.5%), while caregivers and nursing assistants rose by 48,000 to 497,000 (1.7%).

Among all industries, the sector that saw the largest increase in employment was "non-residential welfare facility operation." This sector includes businesses that run daycare centers, childcare facilities, social welfare centers, and visiting welfare services.

This industry recorded a year-on-year increase of 177,000 people (0.6 percentage points) to 1,770,000, retaining its position as the top industry by number of employed persons for the second half, following the first half of last year—the first time since statistics began in 2013 that it has ranked first for two consecutive half-year periods. The previous leader, the "restaurant industry," stood at 1,692,000.

The trend of welfare and care sectors emerging as primary sources of employment for women and older adults continued. Among employed persons aged 50 and above, 1,358,000 (9.8%) worked in non-residential welfare facility operation, making it the number one job category for seniors. Female employment in this sector alone increased by 147,000, absorbing most of the total increase in female employment (171,000).

In contrast, jobs in traditional industries are rapidly declining, with employment in "crop cultivation" decreasing by 109,000, "building construction" by 65,000, and "interior and finishing construction" by 33,000.

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