Number of S. Korea's wage workers grows faster in Q3

Xinhua
24 Feb 2026, 12:15 GMT+10

SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The number of South Korea's wage workers grew faster in the third quarter of 2025 due to an expansion in the health and social welfare industry, statistical ministry data showed Tuesday.

The number of wage and salary worker jobs totaled nearly 20.93 million in the July-September quarter of 2025, up 139,000 from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

It was faster than an increase of 15,000 in the first quarter and 111,000 in the second quarter last year.

Jobs in the health and social welfare and the science and technology sectors advanced 129,000 and 31,000 each in the third quarter on a yearly basis, but those in the manufacturing industry reduced 15,000.

Jobs in the construction industry decreased 128,000 in the third quarter, keeping a downward trend for the eighth straight quarter since the fourth quarter of 2023.

The number of paid workers for those aged 60 and older mounted 223,000 in the third quarter from a year earlier, with the figures for those in their 30s and 50s swelling 85,000 and 18,000, respectively.

The readings for those in their 40s and under-20s declined 59,000 and 127,000 each.

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