South Korea's Job Crisis: Why 2024 Saw Record-Low Growth Amid Construction Slump

The country recorded 26.71 million jobs last year, up 60,000, or 0.2 per cent, from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, reports Yonhap news agency.

Both the growth rate and the number of new jobs were the lowest since the agency began compiling such data in 2016.

Job growth, which had hovered around 800,000 per year from 2020 to 2022, had plunged to 200,000 in 2023.

The further slowdown last year was mainly attributable to the sluggish construction industry, which lost 60,000 positions.

The finance and insurance sector and the transportation and warehousing field also had fewer positions, while health and social welfare added 130,000 jobs, driven by government-led care service positions.

Large companies shed 80,000 jobs, reducing their total employment to 4.43 million, while small and medium-sized enterprises had 10,000 fewer jobs last year, marking the first drop since the record keeping began.

By age group, workers in their 50s held the largest share of jobs at 6.43 million, or 24.1 percent of the total, followed by those in their 40s with 6.03 million and 30s having 5.31 million.

Jobs for people in their 20s fell by 150,000 to 3.28 million in 2024, marking the second consecutive year of decline. The number of jobs held by workers in their 40s also decreased by 170,000.

In contrast, jobs rose sharply among those in their 60s, and 70s or older, with each group adding 150,000 positions, the data showed.

"The loss in jobs among people in their 20s was due to the population decrease of the age bracket and weaker new hiring, while the drop in employment of people in their 40s reflected both demographic trends and the slowdown in the construction sector," the agency said.

- IANS