Although the number of employed people increases, only elderly jobs continue to remain sluggish in construction and manufacturing, exceeding 390,000 in their 20s. The youth employment rate is the lowest in three years, with 270,000 jobs in manufacturing and construction
The number of employed people increased by 194,000 last month from the same month last year, continuing a double-digit increase for four consecutive months. On the surface, the job market seems to be recovering, but if you look at detailed statistics, there is a clear possibility of optical illusion. This is because most of the increased number of employed were concentrated in the elderly, and the number of employed decreased in the working-age population (15-64 years old), the central axis of the economy.
According to the April Employment Trend released by the National Statistical Office on the 14th, the total number of employed people was 28.887 million, up 194,000 from the same month last year. It continued to increase by more than 100,000 people for the fourth consecutive month since January, and the employment rate also rose 0.2 percentage points year-on-year to 63.2 percent. The employment rate of 15-64-year-olds, which is a comparison standard of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), rose 0.3 percentage points to 69.9%.
Behind the seemingly good employment indicators lies a clear structural change. The total number of employed people increased by more than 190,000, but the number of employed people aged 15 to 64 decreased by 145,000. It has been on the decline for 14 consecutive months since March last year.By age group, the number of people aged 60 or older alone increased by 340,000, while the number of people in their 20s decreased by 179,000, recording the largest drop.
This phenomenon can be interpreted as the influence of aging and changes in the demographic structure. As the elderly population continues to increase, they are flowing into public jobs or elderly-friendly industries, and on the contrary, the working-age population is decreasing, so the job market itself is being reorganized age-biased. Since the employment rate itself is the ratio of the employed to the population, a statistical illusion occurs in which the employment rate increases even if only a certain number of employed people are maintained when the working-age population, which is a parameter, decreases. Gong Mi-sook, director of the social statistics bureau at the National Statistical Office, said, “While the number of working-age population is decreasing, the number of people aged 65 or older is increasing a lot. Since the number of employees is also following this trend, we need to figure out the employment rate by age.”
Youth employment indicators have worsened. The employment rate of young people aged 15 to 29 was 45.3%, down 0.9 percentage points from a year ago. This is the lowest level since 2021 as of the same month. In particular, the number of young people “rested” stood at 415,000, an increase of 45,000 from a year ago, marking the 12th consecutive month of increase. When it comes to people in their 20s, the ‘rested’ population increased by 9.7% to 392,000.
Employment-based industries such as traditional manufacturing and construction industries are faltering by industry while employment growth is concentrated on the elderly. The number of employed people in the manufacturing industry decreased by 124,000 and increased from the previous month (-112,000), marking the largest drop since February 2019 (-151,000). It has been on the decline for 10 consecutive months since July last year and has not been linked to an expansion in employment despite signs of export recovery. Director Gong said, “The number of employed people in electronic components and computers has decreased due to the bad manufacturing industry itself,” adding, “The semiconductors that lead exports have a low employment inducement coefficient.” Structural limitations that increase in exports do not lead to job expansion are repeated. The manufacturing industry is the mainstay of total employment with more than 4 million people employed, but analysts say its employment absorption is significantly weakening in the aftermath of recent restructuring, automation trends, and supply chain restructuring.
The employment situation in the construction industry has also deteriorated. Last month, the number of employed in the construction industry fell by 150,000 people, continuing its 12th consecutive month of decline. The housing recession, sluggish construction investment, and shrinking public SOC enforcement seem to be working in combination. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries also decreased by 134,000 due to abnormal temperatures, the largest decrease since November 2015 (-172,000).
On the other hand, the number of employed people increased by 218,000 in the health and social welfare service industries and 113,000 in the professional, scientific and technical service industries, and the employment structure is reorganized around the service industry. In particular, the increase in employment in the fields of consulting, engineering, and R&D reflects the industrial transition, while raising concerns about the polarization of employment centered on highly educated and professional personnel.
By employee status, the number of regular workers increased by 279,000, while the number of daily workers decreased by 54,000. Among the self-employed, the number of self-employed people with employees decreased by 16,000 and the number of self-employed people without employees increased by 11,000. The number of unpaid family workers decreased by 77,000.
