▲ A job information bulletin board at a university in Seoul on May 13, 2026 (Yonhap)

wage workers-tally

S. Korea adds 221,000 wage jobs in Q4; youth employment declines

SEOUL, May 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea added 221,000 wage jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025 from a year earlier, though youth employment went down, government data showed Tuesday.

The number of paid employee positions stood at 21.1 million as of November 2025, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

Wage job growth has continued on an upward trend for the third consecutive quarter, with the fourth-quarter gain sharply higher than the 139,000 jobs added in the previous three-month period.

The increase was mainly driven by employment growth in the health and social welfare sectors, as well as the hospitality industry, and the science and technology sector.

Wage jobs in the manufacturing and construction sectors, the main pillars of the South Korean economy, however, decreased by 14,000 and 88,000 on-year in the fourth quarter, respectively.

A significant share of new positions was taken by older workers, reflecting the country's aging population.

By age group, the number of jobs for people in their 20s and younger dropped by 111,000, or 3.7 percent, to 2.87 million. Employment for those in their 40s also declined, falling by 37,000 to 4.68 million.

In contrast, the number of paid jobs for those in their 60s and older sharply rose by 246,000, or 6.4 percent, to 4.12 million, while those in their 50s and 30s saw increases of 24,000 and 99,000, respectively.

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