Employment increased by more than 310,000 people 4th. It is the first time in 1 year and 7 months that the number of employed has posted an increase in the 300,000 range. Employment expanded in service industries thanks to the government's consumption coupons for people's livelihood recovery. But weak hiring in manufacturing and construction continues.
According to the employment trend for September 2025 released by the National Data Office on Oct. 17, the total number of employed people 4th was 29,154,000, up 312,000 from a year earlier. The number of employed has been steadily increasing this year, but except for May (245,000), the gains had been in the 100,000 range. It is the first time since February last year (329,000) that employment has increased by 300,000.
The employment rate for ages 15–64 (OECD comparison standard) was 70.4%, up 0.5 percentage point (p) from the same month a year earlier. The employment rate for those 15 and older was 63.7%, up 0.4 p. The overall unemployment rate was 2.1%, similar to last year.
By age group, only the 15–29 employment rate fell, to 45.1%, down 0.7 p. In the other age brackets, employment rates rose: 30s (81.4%, 1.0 p), 40s (80.4%, 0.8 p), 50s (77.9%, 0.3 p), and 60 and older (48.3%, 0.9 p).
By industry, manufacturing employment fell by 61,000. The decline was similar to August, marking a decrease for the 14th straight month.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing and construction decreased by 146,000 and 84,000, respectively. In particular, the number of people employed in construction fell for the 16th consecutive month, reflecting a sluggish construction market.
In contrast, employment in health and social work services increased by 304,000. Arts, sports and leisure-related services and education services also rose by 75,000 and 56,000, respectively.
Gong Mi-suk, director general of social statistics at the National Data Office, said, "It increased mainly in sectors where consumption coupons are used a lot, such as wholesale and retail and accommodation," adding, "In particular, arts, sports and leisure-related services are not a large sector, but the number of employed increased due to policy effects."
By employment status, among wage workers, regular employees increased by 340,000 and temporary employees by 44,000. Daily workers also rose by 2,000. Among the self-employed, those with employees increased by 30,000, while the self-employed without employees and unpaid family workers decreased by 85,000 and 20,000, respectively.
Among the economically inactive population, those "resting" increased by 42,000 (1.7%), and those in school or taking courses rose by 25,000 (0.8%). However, due to factors such as childcare (-68,000, -9.3%) and old age (-40,000, -1.6%), the economically inactive population decreased, resulting in a decline of 116,000 from a year earlier. The number of discouraged workers was 369,000, up 9,000 from a year earlier.