The number of employed people in February rose by 234,000 from a year earlier, returning to an increase in the 200,000 range after three months. But weak youth employment persisted, and the youth unemployment rate hit a record high in five years.
According to the "Employment trends for February 2026" that the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) released on the 18th, the total number of employed people last month was 28,413,000, up 234,000 from a year earlier. The gain widened from January (108,000).
The employment rate for ages 15-64 (OECD comparison standard) was 69.2%, up 0.3 percentage point (p). The unemployment rate was 3.4%, up 0.2 percentage point (p) from a year earlier. The employment rate was a record high for the same month since statistics began in 1989, and the unemployment rate was a record high for the same month since 2022.
By age group, the number of employed people aged 60 and older increased by 287,000, leading the rise. Employment also increased among those in their 30s (86,000) and 50s (6,000), but fell by 146,000 among young people ages 15-29.
The youth employment rate was 43.3%, down 1.0 percentage point. The youth unemployment rate was 7.7%, up 0.7 percentage point from a year earlier, the record high since 2021 (10.1%).
By industry, health and social welfare services added 288,000 jobs, driving employment growth. Transportation and storage (81,000) and arts, sports and recreation-related services (70,000) also saw notable increases.
In contrast, employment fell in professional, scientific and technical services (-105,000), agriculture, forestry and fishing (-90,000), and information and communications (-42,000). The declines in professional, scientific and technical services and in information and communications were the largest since the industry classification was introduced in 2013. Manufacturing employment (-16,000) fell for the 20th straight month, and construction employment (40,000) declined for the 22nd straight month.
Among wage workers, regular employees increased by 158,000, temporary employees by 8,000, and daily workers by 39,000. Among nonwage workers, self-employed with employees (60,000) and self-employed without employees (10,000) increased, while unpaid family workers decreased by 41,000.
Among the economically inactive population, those who were "resting" numbered 2,724,000, up 27,000 from a year earlier. Those age 60 and older who were resting increased by 76,000, leading the rise, while those ages 15-29 who were resting fell by 20,000. The number of discouraged workers was 367,000, down 23,000 from a year earlier.