7 Out of 10 Newly Added Regular Wage Workers in Q3 Were in Their 60s or Older

Seven out of 10 regular wage workers added in the third quarter of this year were seniors aged 60 or older. While the growth in regular employment, classified as stable jobs, was concentrated among older workers, jobs for people in their 20s and 30s actually declined.

According to Statistics Korea on the 8th, the number of regular wage workers in the third quarter of this year stood at 16,842,034, an increase of 167,628 from a year earlier. Of this increase, workers aged 60 or older accounted for 125,573, or 74.9 percent of the total. Although those aged 60 and over make up only 13.3 percent of all regular wage workers, they accounted for three-quarters of the increase alone.

Regular wage workers are defined as paid employees with employment contracts of one year or longer, or with no fixed term. This category includes permanent employees and indefinite-term contract workers. Compared with short-term or daily workers, they are classified as relatively stable jobs.

While the ranks of older workers grew, regular employment among people in their 20s and 30s turned to decline. The number of workers in their 20s fell by 82,836 from a year earlier. The population in their 20s declined by 3.4 percent, while their regular wage employment fell by 3.8 percent, meaning jobs disappeared faster than the population. In their 30s, despite a population increase of 81,433, regular wage workers decreased by 3,711.

The data also confirm the scale of young people who failed to enter the labor market. As of August, the number of people in their 20s and 30s classified as 'resting' reached 680,000. Among those citing 'difficulty finding a desired job' as their reason for resting, the share was 35.2 percent for ages 15-29 and 32.3 percent for those in their 30s, up 1.1 and 5.0 percentage points from a year earlier, respectively.

The government is focusing on jobs, housing, and household finance policies—the 'three key livelihood projects' emphasized by President Lee Jae-myung. It also said it plans to support youth job creation and the expansion of regional growth engines.