Construction accounted for 74.6% of the decline in day laborers

According to an analysis of the Economically Active Population Survey by the National Data Agency on the 25th, the number of temporary and day workers stood at 5.727 million in the third quarter of this year, down 95,000 from a year earlier, marking the lowest level for the period since 1995 — a 31-year low. Most of the lost jobs came from the construction sector, reflecting how short-term employment is shrinking rapidly amid the construction slowdown.

As the construction downturn continues, construction employment fell 48,000 from the same month last year last month, extending its decline to a 29th consecutive month, while the Construction Business Survey Index (CBSI) recorded 73.2, well below the baseline of 100. Among age groups, workers in their 50s saw the largest drop in construction, down 21,000.

By employment type, day laborers numbered 833,000, down 38,000 from a year earlier, an all-time low for the third quarter. Day laborers in construction fell 28,000 to 381,000, accounting for 74.6% of the overall decline in day laborers. Declines continued outside construction as well: day laborers fell by 10,000 in wholesale and retail trade, 9,000 in associations, organizations and other personal services, and 8,000 in accommodation and food services.

The situation is similar for temporary workers. Temporary workers, employed on contracts of one month to less than a year, fell 57,000 to 4.894 million. The decline was concentrated in accommodation and food services, which lost 30,000 — the largest drop — while the sector also saw 15,000 workers in their 40s leave, and wholesale and retail lost 13,000 in their 50s.

According to the National Data Agency's supplementary survey by type of employment, 32.0% of non-regular workers took their jobs involuntarily, and 73.9% of them cited 'immediate need for income (living expenses).'