Photo : YONHAP News
The number of regular workers has decreased for the first time in three years, with nonregular workers now making up the second-highest proportion of the total on record.
According to Statistics Korea on Tuesday, the number of regular workers stood at 13-point-685 million, representing a decrease of 147-thousand from a year earlier, the first on-year decline since August 2021.
The number of nonregular workers, on the other hand, stood at eight-point-46 million, up 337-thousand from the same month last year.
At the same time, the proportion of nonregular workers among all wage earners rose by one-point-two percentage points from a year earlier to 38-point-two percent, the second-highest figure on record.
Statistics Korea explained that the number of regular workers decreased in industries such as manufacturing, construction, retail and wholesale, and accommodation and food services, sectors that have seen an overall decline in total employment recently.