Others seem to get in so easily… but that entrance feels far too small just for me. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s labor market showed clear signs of softening last month, with the number of job openings per job seeker hitting its lowest May level since the 1998 IMF crisis, and the growth in employment insurance enrollments falling to a five-year low, government data showed Monday.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s latest report on labor market trends, the number of workers enrolled in the national employment insurance program stood at 15.58 million at the end of May, up 187,000 or 1.2 percent from the same month last year. This marks the smallest year-on-year increase since May 2020.
Sectoral trends were mixed:
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Manufacturing saw a modest uptick in employment, especially in food products, auto, and chemicals. However, domestic manufacturing jobs continued to decline for the 20th consecutive month when excluding foreign labor, falling by 16,000.
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Construction posted its 22nd straight monthly drop in employment, with 754,000 workers enrolled.
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Service industries remained the primary source of job growth, particularly in healthcare, business services, hospitality, and logistics, though retail and IT sectors continued to shrink.
This file photo from Nov. 20, 2024, shows job seekers checking an employment notice bulletin board at a job fair in Busan, some 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
By age, employment insurance enrollments rose in the 30s, 50s, and 60+ age groups, but continued to fall among those under 30 and in their 40s—a trend now lasting 35 months and 21 months, respectively.
Gender-wise, women accounted for the bulk of new enrollments, rising by 148,000 compared to 39,000 for men.
Foreign workers under the Employment Permit System grew by 22,000 year-on-year to 256,000, reflecting recent labor policy adjustments aimed at alleviating shortages in manual labor sectors.
Meanwhile, the number of new job postings via the government’s “Employment 24” platform dropped to 141,000, down 24.8 percent from the previous year. This marks the 27th consecutive monthly decline since March 2023.
The job openings-to-applicant ratio—a key barometer of labor market tightness—fell to 0.37, its lowest May level since 0.32 in 1998, during the height of the Asian financial crisis.
Despite a 3.1 percent drop in new jobseeker claims for unemployment benefits (85,000 in May), the total number of recipients rose 3.7 percent to 670,000, with the monthly payout reaching 1.11 trillion won. The government has already disbursed 53.7 percent of this year’s 10.9 trillion won unemployment benefits budget by May.
“The employment growth trend has modestly recovered since bottoming out in January,” said Chun Kyung-ki, director of future employment analysis at the ministry. “But external projections suggest that this recovery may not last into the second half of the year.”
Chun noted that structural shifts are reshaping the job market, with the service sector absorbing the bulk of employment gains while manufacturing and construction continue to struggle.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
