S. Korea’s wage jobs surge in Q1

South Korea’s number of wage and salary jobs reached 20,521,000 in the January-March period, marking a 314,000 increase from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea.

This growth rate was higher than the 293,000-increase seen in the previous quarter, mainly due to a significant rise in employment opportunities for older workers.

The number of paid workers aged 60 and older saw a remarkable surge of 263,000 in the first quarter.

While workers in their 50s and 30s experienced increases of 128,000 and 57,000 respectively, and those in their 40s and under 20s saw declines of 32,000 and 102,000.

In terms of industry, the health and social welfare sector experienced the most significant growth in wage worker jobs, adding 139,000 positions.

The transport and warehousing and eatery and lodging industries also saw increases of 43,000 and 40,000 jobs, respectively.

However, the construction sector faced a decline of 48,000 wage worker jobs in the first quarter, following a small decrease of 14,000 in the previous quarter. This downturn can be attributed to the weakening housing market.

Attribution: Xinhua

Subediting: M. S. Salama