Regular-employee headcounts among South Koreans in their 20s fell for a 15th consecutive quarter in July-September, even as the national total rose, with workers aged 60 and older supplying most of the gain.
The Ministry of Data and Statistics put the national total at 16.84 million for July-September, an annual increase of 167,628. The measure counts regular employees; it is a headcount, not an employment rate. That distinction applies to the age figures as well.
People aged 60 and older accounted for 125,573 of the additional regular employees. They made up less than 14% of the regular workforce, yet their increase represented 74.9% of the year-over-year increase. Those percentages compare the older group’s share of all regular employees with its share of the year-over-year increase.
For people in their 20s, the regular-employee count dropped by 82,836 from a year earlier, extending the decline for a 15th consecutive quarter. The series has fallen each quarter since Q1 2023. In the 30s age group, the regular-employee count decreased by 3,711; meanwhile, that group’s population increased by 81,433 over the year.
In its August survey, the ministry counted about 680,000 people across the 20s and 30s as not employed and “resting.” The survey gives one combined figure for both age groups, while the quarterly employment data report separate counts for people in their 20s and 30s.
