Number of wage workers in South Korea rises in Q2

The number of such jobs reached 19.6 million at the end of June, an increase of 3.6% or 681,000 year-on-year, data from Statistics Korea showed.

The highest increase by age group was for those in their 60s, increasing 15.4% or 392,000 year-on-year, followed by those in their 50s (173,000), those in their 20s and younger (78,000) and those in their 40s (55,000). However, those in their 30s saw a fall of 0.4% or 17,000 year-on-year.

By sector, the number of jobs in health and social welfare increased by 192,000, while those in the public administration sector rose by 70,000. The manufacturing sector added 25,000 wage workers in the second quarter from a year earlier – the first on-year gain in seven quarters.

The accommodations and food service industries suffered the fifth consecutive quarter of falls in jobs in the second quarter, shedding 9,000 jobs for wage workers, but it was smaller than the fall of 72,000 posts three months earlier.

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By gender, the number of jobs for women jumped by 435,000 while that for men expanded by 245,000 in the second quarter from a year earlier. Data from Statistics Korea also showed that men accounted for 57.4% of the total wage-worker jobs in the country at the end of June, according to Yonhap.