In June, the number of workers at domestic enterprises increased by nearly 250,000 from the same month last year, according to data. The increase in workers was the largest in 18 months since December 2024 (262,000).
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) on the 30th released the "June enterprise labor force survey," which included these details. As of the end of June this year, 20,714,000 people were working at enterprises with at least one worker. That is up 248,000 from June last year (20,466,000). Since the start of this year, the number of workers has been increasing by about 200,000 every month.
The increase in enterprise workers was led by "health and social welfare services," which include residential welfare facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes, up 124,000, the most among sectors. As the older adult population grows, the number of workers in related businesses also increased.
In addition, the number of workers rose in finance and insurance (33,000) and public administration, defense, and social security administration (33,000). Manufacturing, which has the largest share of workers among all industries, also increased by 12,000. In contrast, wholesale and retail (-29,000) and arts, sports, and leisure-related services (-5,000) saw declines in workers.
As of May, the nominal wage per worker at enterprises with at least one regular employee was 3,982,000 won. That was up 66,000 won (1.7%) from a year earlier. However, the real wage, reflecting price levels, was 3,321,000 won, down 48,000 won (1.4%) over the same period.