No. of Part-timers Who Want Full-time Jobs Exceeds 1.2 mln

The number of part-time workers who work less than four hours a day on a five-day work week basis increased sharply. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, April 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of South Koreans who are stuck in part-time jobs despite wanting to work full-time is estimated to have exceeded 1.2 million.

According to data from Statistics Korea, the number of individuals who work less than 36 hours a week reached approximately 5.9 million last month, up 16.6 percent or 836,000 from a year ago.

In general, they are classified as part-time workers rather than full-time workers. By working hours, the number of workers who work between 1 and 17 hours a week stood at 2.2 million, up 35.5 percent or 565,000 from a year before.

In other words, the number of part-time workers who work less than four hours a day on a five-day work week basis increased sharply.

The number of part-time workers who work between 18 and 35 hours a week rose by 7.9 percent or 272,000 to 3.7 million.

Among them, some opted to work part-time, but there are some who are stuck in part-time work regardless of their will.

One out of five workers who worked less than 36 hours a week last month, or 1.2 million (20.6 percent), want to increase their working hours or move to another job with longer working hours, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The remaining 4.7 million said they want to keep their current jobs.

J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)