South Korea Employment Rate Falls to 63.0% in April as Job Growth Slows to 74,000
Updated
Updated · UPI News · May 13
South Korea Employment Rate Falls to 63.0% in April as Job Growth Slows to 74,000
4 articles · Updated · UPI News · May 13
South Korea’s employment rate slipped 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier to 63.0% in April, the first decline in 16 months, as total employment rose just 74,000 to 28.96 million.
That gain was the smallest since December 2024 and the first time this year job growth fell below 100,000, with officials citing higher oil prices, weaker consumer sentiment and Middle East war-related uncertainty.
Youth hiring remained the clearest weak spot: employment for people aged 15 to 29 fell by 194,000 to 3.42 million, extending a 42-month slide, while the youth employment rate dropped 1.6 points.
Manufacturing lost 55,000 jobs, wholesale and retail shed 52,000, and accommodation and food services fell 29,000; health and social welfare added 261,000, helped by rising care demand and government-backed senior jobs.
Employment growth was still concentrated among people aged 60 and older and those in their 30s, but Statistics Korea said even those gains slowed from the previous month.
South Korea's economy is recovering, yet its youth face the worst job market in decades. Why this growing divide?
As South Korea becomes a 'super-aged society,' can it reform its economy before its demographic crisis becomes irreversible?
With the Middle East war shaking its economy, how is South Korea re-engineering its supply chains for survival?