The number of employed persons increased by 139,000 last month, marking five consecutive months of growth. However, the employment rate for the youth demographic (ages 15-29) recorded its lowest level in six years on an October basis. In particular, the number of employed youths has continued to decline for 48 consecutive months.
According to the "October 2026 Employment Trends" released by the National Data Agency on the 11th, the number of employed persons last month was 29.179 million, an increase of 139,000 compared to the same month of the previous year (same basis hereinafter). This marks five consecutive months of growth since June.
The employment rate for those aged 15 and above was 63.3%, down by 0.1 percentage points (p.p.). It is the second-highest level on an October basis since monthly statistics began in July 1982. The employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 rose by 0.3 p.p. over the same period to 70.4%. This was the highest level on an October basis since related statistics were first compiled in 1989.
In contrast, the youth employment rate fell by 1.7 p.p. to 42.9%. It showed a downward trend for 30 consecutive months since May 2024. It is the lowest level on an October basis since October 2020 (42.3%). The number of employed youths decreased by 196,000 over the same period. The number of employed persons has continued to decline for 48 months.
The standard of ages 15 to 34, defined as youth under the Special Act on Promoting Youth Employment, which the government began newly publishing from last September, showed a similar trend. The number of employed persons aged 15 to 34 decreased by 131,000, continuing a downward trend for 30 consecutive months. The employment rate fell by 0.6 p.p. to 55.4%, marking the tenth consecutive month of decline.
By age group, the number of employed persons decreased by 203,000 in their 20s and by 32,000 in their 40s. In contrast, increases in those aged 60 and above (196,000), those in their 30s (128,000), and those in their 50s (42,000) drove the overall increase in the number of employed persons.
The number of unemployed persons was 602,000, a decrease of 56,000 (-8.5%). The unemployment rate fell by 0.2 p.p. to 2.0%. The number of unemployed youths decreased by 17,000. This marks a shift to decline for the first time in six months since April (-23,000). The youth unemployment rate was recorded at 5.2%.
Employment by industry increased in sectors such as △Health and social welfare services (249,000, 7.5%), △Transportation and warehousing (48,000, 2.8%), and △Business facility management, business support, and rental services (37,000, 2.6%).
In contrast, employment decreased in sectors such as △Accommodation and food service (-137,000, -5.8%), △Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (-101,000, -6.9%), △Construction (-42,000, -2.2%), and △Manufacturing (-7,000, -0.2%). Manufacturing had shifted to growth for the first time in two years and three months last September, but has now returned to decline.
In particular, the accommodation and food service industry recorded its largest decrease since February 2021 (-232,000). The Data Agency analyzed this as a base effect from the significant increase in employment due to last year's livelihood recovery consumption coupons.
Bin Hyeon-jun, Director of the Social Statistics Bureau at the Data Agency, stated, "The continued decline in accommodation and food service, which appears to have a high proportion of youth employment, has resulted in a decrease in employed youths for 3 years and 8 months consecutively." He added, "While the population decreased by 141,000, the magnitude of the decrease in employed persons was larger relative to that, causing the employment rate to fall for 30 consecutive months."
He further noted, "Along with industrial factors, phenomena such as a preference for experienced hires during new recruitment and the spread of on-demand hiring culture are continuously affecting the decline in youth employment and the drop in the employment rate."
The non-economically active population was 16.299 million, an increase of 179,000 (1.1%) compared to a year ago. It decreased in categories such as "Not working" (-69,000, -2.7%), but increased in categories such as "Enrolled/Attending school" (131,000, 3.9%) and "Old age" (68,000, 2.7%). The number of discouraged job seekers was 340,000, a decrease of 27,000.
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