South Korea’s temporary workforce slips 1.9% in December
South Korea’s temporary workforce slips 1.9% in December

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The number of temporary employees in South Korea decreased by 86,000 year-over-year in December to approximately 4.37 million, a 1.9% fall, according to the latest research by Statistics Korea.
Compared to the previous month, temporary employees fell by 10.56%.
Further data from Statistics Korea showed the unemployment rate stood at 3.8% in December, up 0.5% year-on-year.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate stood at 3.7%, down from 3.2% in December 2023 and from 2.7% in November 2024.
The number of unemployed persons totalled 1.11 million in December, which increased by 171,000 persons or 18.1% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the number of employed persons totalled 28.04 million persons in December, which went down 52,000 persons or 0.2% year-on-year.
South Korea’s economically active population totalled 16.49 million people in December, increasing 29,000 persons or 0.2% year-on-year.
The country’s labour force participation rate stood at 63.9% in December, up 0.1% year-on-year.
The employment to population ratio recorded 61.4% in December, down 0.3%p year-on-year.