The number of employed persons last month increased by 113,000 year-on-year. The employment rate for ages 15 to 64, the benchmark used by the OECD (OECD), rose by 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier to 70.6%, while the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 2%. However, the youth employment rate continued to decline.
According to the "Employment Trends for September 2026" released by the National Data Office on the 16th, the number of employed persons aged 15 and over in September this year stood at 29.266 million, an increase of 113,000 from a year earlier. The year-on-year increase in employment had been recovering, rising from 63,000 in June to 108,000 in July and 184,000 in August, but the gain narrowed again last month.
By industry, employment increased by 207,000 in healthcare and social welfare services, and rose in transportation and warehousing (54,000; year-on-year change hereafter) and finance and insurance (32,000).
Conversely, employment declined in accommodation and food service (-97,000), agriculture, forestry and fishing (-94,000), and education services (-53,000).
Among wage earners, regular employees increased by 253,000 year-on-year, while temporary employees decreased by 81,000 and daily-wage workers fell by 55,000.
The number of unemployed persons last month was 600,000, a decrease of 34,000 from a year earlier. This was driven by declines in unemployment among those in their 50s and 30s. The unemployment rate also fell by 0.1 percentage point to 2%. It has been gradually stabilizing since recording 4.1% in January this year.
The non-economically active population increased by 179,000 year-on-year. While the number of people who were "resting" decreased by 25,000, there was an increase due to factors such as housework (99,000) and enrollment in school or courses (73,000).
The employment rate for ages 15 to 64 rose by 0.2 percentage points to 70.6%. The employment rate has been gradually recovering after hitting a low of 69.2% in January and February this year. However, the employment rate for youth (ages 15 to 29) fell by 1.1 percentage points to 44%, and the employment rate for those aged 15 to 34, who are classified as youth under the Special Act on Promoting Youth Employment, also dropped by 0.4 percentage points to 56.1%.
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