Overview
- May 2026 data showed total employment fell by 40,000 from a year earlier to 29.12 million, marking the first year-on-year decline in 17 months.
- Manufacturing lost 140,000 jobs, extending a 23-month run of declines and hitting car, plastics and food firms hardest while chip export gains supported output but not broad hiring.
- Youth employment for ages 15–29 plunged by 255,000 year-on-year, the steepest drop since early 2021, and drove a sharp fall in the overall employment rate.
- The unemployment rate edged up to 2.9% with 878,000 people unemployed, and the number of economically inactive people rose by 264,000, including 47,000 saying they were taking time off.
- In response Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol convened ministers and announced plans to train more than 1,000 skilled workers and to review regional support and the possible designation of employment crisis areas, after earlier 2026 job gains cooled.