The total number of employed people in July rose by double digits from a year earlier, but youth (ages 15 to 29) employment indicators worsened to the weakest level since COVID-19. The number of unemployed youths was 251,000, up 41,000 from a year earlier. The jobless rate was 6.8%, up 1.3 percentage points (p) year over year. The increase was the largest since January 2021 during the COVID period (1.8 percentage points).
According to the "July 2026 employment trends" that the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) released on the 12th, the number of employed youths last month was 3,441,000, down 191,000 from a year earlier. It fell for the 45th consecutive month, again marking the lowest since age-based statistics began in 1982. The youth employment rate was 44.2%, the lowest since July 2020 (42.7%).
The Ministry of Finance and Economy said, "Due to corporations' preference for hiring experienced workers, employment in manufacturing fell, and the Middle East war also appears to have had an impact." The number of employed in manufacturing last month decreased by 68,000. It has declined for 25 consecutive months.
This deterioration in youth employment contrasts with the overall uptrend in total employment. The total number of employed people was 29,136,000, up 108,000 from a year earlier. It was the first double-digit increase in four months since March (206,000). The employment rate for those ages 15 to 64 was 70.3%, the highest for July on record.
Once again, those 60 and older led the improvement in employment indicators. Employment in this age group increased by 231,000. Those in their 30s rose by 65,000, and those in their 50s increased by 33,000. By contrast, not only those in their 20s but also those in their 40s decreased by 31,000. By industry, manufacturing declined, while services increased by 295,000, and employment in the public and welfare institutional sector rose by 219,000.
The economically inactive population—those neither employed nor unemployed—was 16,103,000, up 99,000 from the same month a year earlier. It increased in schooling/coursework (up 134,000) and housework (up 50,000). The number of people "taking a break" was 2,518,000, down 62,000. It had risen by 5,000 in June before turning to a decrease.
The government plans to soon draw up a "youth job recovery plan" to create 300,000 positions in private and public jobs and startups by 2030. It is a follow-up to the "youth New Deal promotion plan" released in April. A government official said, "For weak-employment industries such as manufacturing and construction, we will boost industrial vitality."