In December last year, the number of employees in enterprise rose by 84,000 compared to the same month the previous year. Since October of the same year, the increase has been less than 100,000 for three consecutive months.
According to the December enterprise labor force survey results announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 23rd, as of the end of last year, the number of employees in enterprises with one or more workers was 20,017,000, an increase of 0.4% (84,000) compared to the same month the previous year.
From October of last year, the increase in the number of employees in enterprises has fallen below 100,000 for three consecutive months. The last time the increase in the number of employees in enterprises fell below 100,000 was due to the impact of COVID-19, leading to a continuous decrease in the number of employees, which had not happened since March 2021 (74,000) for 43 months.
Since March 2021, the number of employees in enterprises has continued to rise, but the rate of increase is slowing.
By employee status, the number of regular employees increased by 50,000 in December, while temporary and daily workers rose by 18,000. Other workers increased by 16,000.
By industry, health and social welfare services (92,000), facility management, business support and rental services (21,000), and professional, scientific, and technical services (21,000) saw increases. The manufacturing industry, which accounts for the largest share of total employment, added 5,000 employees compared to the same month the previous year.
In contrast, the construction industry saw a decrease of 78,000, while wholesale and retail trade decreased by 19,000 and accommodation and food services decreased by 8,000.
The number of new hires in December was 834,000, which is a decrease of 12,000 (1.4%) compared to the same month the previous year. Furthermore, the number of job changers was 974,000, a decrease of 13,000 (1.3%).
Meanwhile, as of the end of November, the total wage per worker was 3.8 million won, an increase of 2.3% (85,000 won) compared to the same month previous year. The total wage per regular employee was 4.027 million won, which is an increase of 2.5% (96,000 won). However, for temporary and daily workers, it decreased by 2.9% (53,000 won) to 1.807 million won.
The real wage, which reflects the price level, was 3.322 million won, an increase of 0.8% (25,000 won) compared to the same month the previous year.