The number of people that domestic corporations plan to hire over six months through March next year fell 12% from the number planned for the same period a year earlier. The door to the New Year job market is expected to narrow further. However, with large corporations set to hire more and small and mid-size companies less, the hiring climate is likely to split by company size.
According to the "results of the 2025 second-half enterprise workforce survey by occupation," which the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) released on the 30th, as of Oct. 1, those surveyed 72,000 corporations plan to hire 467,000 people in the fourth quarter through the first quarter next year. That is down 12.1% (64,000 people) from the number planned for the same period last year.
However, the picture differed by corporation size. Among enterprises with fewer than 300 employees, classified as small and mid-size companies, the planned number of hires was 410,000, down 14.4% from a year earlier. In contrast, corporations with 300 or more employees planned to hire 57,000 people, up 9.2% from the planned number a year earlier.
Recruitment and hiring were also active at large corporations in the third quarter. Among enterprises with 300 or more employees, the number of job openings in the third quarter was 174,000, up 2.9% from the same period a year earlier, and the number hired was 160,000, up 4%. In contrast, among enterprises with fewer than 300 employees, job openings were 1,032,000 and hires were 945,000, down 8.4% and 7.3%, respectively.
Despite enterprises' active recruiting, the number of "unfilled positions" fell from last year at both large corporations and small and mid-size companies. On this, Labor Market Survey Division Director Kim Jae-hoon of the labor ministry said, "It's a good sign when job openings increase and unfilled positions decrease, but the fact that openings fell and hires fell, leading to fewer unfilled positions, means the economy is not good," adding, "At business sites with 300 or more employees, the hiring situation is okay, but it is not for those with fewer than 300."
Corporations cited as top reasons for not filling staff in line with demand: "because there are no applicants with the experience required by the enterprise" (26.9%) and "because working conditions, such as wage levels, do not match job seekers' expectations" (20.5%).
Meanwhile, occupations with large planned hires through the first quarter next year are, in order, ▲ management, administration and clerical ▲ sales and retail ▲ food service ▲ driving and transportation ▲ health and medical. Planned hires rose from last year in finance and insurance and in social welfare and religion, while they fell in driving and transportation, management, administration and clerical, and food service.