SME Side Job Holders Increase by 37% in Five Years... Calls for Better Treatment and Flexible Working Hours

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of wage-earning part-time workers at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has increased by 37% over the past five years. Calls are being made to improve the treatment of temporary workers, expand support for converting them to full-time positions, and introduce measures to make working hours more flexible within the framework of the 52-hour workweek system.

According to the report "Analysis of Temporary Leave and Side Job Status among SME Wage Workers" released by the Korea Small and Medium Business Institute on March 9, the number of wage-earning employees with side jobs at SMEs surpassed 2% of all SME wage workers after 2024. A side job holder refers to someone who undertakes work other than their primary job for additional income.

Proportion and Trends of Wage Workers with Side Jobs in Small and Medium Enterprises. Korea Small and Medium Business Institute

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The number of wage-earning side job holders at SMEs rose from 277,000 in 2020 to 379,000 in 2025, marking a 37.1% increase (102,000 people) over the past five years. The proportion of side job holders among all wage workers at SMEs grew from 1.57% in 2020 to 2.00% in 2025, reflecting a 0.43 percentage point rise over the same period.

Nearly half (42.4%) of wage-earning side job holders at SMEs work as temporary employees with contract terms of one month to less than one year. The proportion of temporary workers among SME wage-earning side job holders (42.4%) is 20.6 percentage points higher than that among large enterprise side job holders (21.8%), and 17.9 percentage points higher than among all SME wage workers (24.5%). The smaller the workforce size, the higher the proportion of temporary workers: 53.5% for companies with four or fewer employees, 44.3% for those with 5-29 employees, and 26.0% for those with 30-299 employees.

Proportion of Temporary Workers and Side Job Holders among Wage Workers in Small and Medium Enterprises. Korea Small and Medium Business Institute

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The number of SME wage workers on temporary leave, excluding the COVID-19 period, has reached its highest level. In 2025, there are 327,000 SME wage workers on temporary leave, accounting for 79.3% of all wage workers on temporary leave (413,000 people). The share of workers on temporary leave among all SME wage workers began increasing from 2024, and in 2025, the rate reached 1.73%, representing a larger year-on-year increase (from 0.05 percentage points to 0.19 percentage points).

The reasons for temporary leave among SME wage workers, unlike a decade ago, are as follows: vacation or paid leave (39.0%), childcare (28.6%), temporary illness or accident (18.8%), and business downturn or suspension of operations (10.3%). Compared to 2015, childcare as a reason for leave increased from 14.1% to 28.6% (up 14.5 percentage points), and business downturn or suspension of operations rose from 7.5% to 10.3% (up 2.8 percentage points) in 2025. The proportion citing business downturn or suspension of operations is 7.8 percentage points higher than among large enterprises (2.5%).

The Korea Small and Medium Business Institute suggested expanding work choice options for SME side job holders seeking increased income, as well as strengthening support for flexible working hours and one-person startups. The proposed measures include expanding the unit period for overtime work from "weekly" to "monthly," "quarterly," or "semi-annual" by labor-management agreement within the 52-hour workweek system, and enhancing support for childcare, consulting, and funding for one-person startups utilizing artificial intelligence.

Noh Minseon, a research fellow at the Korea Small and Medium Business Institute, stated, "The high proportion of side job participation among temporary workers in small businesses with fewer than 29 employees is due to poor working conditions and income disparities. It is necessary to strengthen support for converting temporary workers to full-time positions through wage increases and better treatment." He added, "Other policy issues to consider include strengthening re-employment support for middle-aged workers and one-person startups, as well as raising the subsidies for substitute personnel during parental leave and work-sharing at companies with fewer than 29 employees."

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