In September, the number of employment insurance subscribers rose by 288,000 compared to the same month last year, marking the ninth consecutive month of increases in the late 200,000s. While manufacturing subscribers have increased for two consecutive months, the sector continues to struggle, particularly when excluding foreign workers. Additionally, the number of subscribers aged 29 and under has also declined.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's report on labor market trends based on employment administration statistics for September 2026, the total number of regular employment insurance subscribers reached 15.93 million, an increase of 288,000 (1.8%) from the same month last year. The growth in employment insurance subscribers has expanded from 270,000 in May, 266,000 in June, and 278,000 in both July and August to 288,000 in September.
By industry, the service sector led the increase in employment insurance subscribers, with 11.18 million subscribers, up by 283,000 (2.6%) from the previous year. The health and welfare sector saw the largest increase, adding 115,000 subscribers. The accommodation and food service sector gained 56,000, business services added 27,000, and educational services increased by 22,000. In contrast, the information and communication sector has seen a decline for seven consecutive months, while the real estate sector has experienced a decrease for eight months.
In manufacturing, the number of employment insurance subscribers reached 3.853 million, an increase of 8,000 (0.2%) from the previous year. This marks the second consecutive month of growth after a return to an upward trend in August for the first time in 15 months.
Within manufacturing, the other transportation equipment sector, including shipbuilding, added 7,500 subscribers, while the electronics and communications sector gained 5,900, and machinery manufacturing increased by 5,100. Notably, the semiconductor manufacturing sector saw an increase of 7,300 subscribers, driving improvements in employment within the electronics and communications sector. However, the non-metallic mineral manufacturing sector lost 3,500 subscribers, while textile products decreased by 3,100, chemical products by 2,900, and automotive manufacturing by 2,000.
Excluding the impact of foreign workers, the struggles in manufacturing become more pronounced. Last month, the number of foreign employment insurance subscribers under the Employment Permit System (E-9, H-2) increased by 12,000 compared to the previous year. However, when excluding these foreign subscribers, the number of manufacturing subscribers actually decreased by 4,000. Nonetheless, the decline in manufacturing subscribers excluding foreign workers has narrowed from 10,000 in August to 4,000 in September.
The government confirmed in December of last year that it would allow the introduction of 80,000 foreign workers under the Employment Permit System (E-9) this year, based on industry-specific labor supply forecasts and field demand surveys, and plans to improve regulations to increase the foreign employment limits in non-capital region manufacturing businesses.
In the construction sector, the number of employment insurance subscribers fell by 5,900 (0.8%) to 742,000. This marks the 38th consecutive month of decline, although the rate of decrease has been slowing.
By age group, the number of subscribers aged 29 and under decreased by 55,000, indicating ongoing employment difficulties for young people. The manufacturing sector saw a decline of 21,000, the information and communication sector lost 15,000, and the health and welfare sector decreased by 12,000.
Conversely, the number of subscribers in their 30s increased by 88,000, those in their 40s by 6,000, those in their 50s by 41,000, and those aged 60 and over by 207,000. Notably, the increase among those aged 60 and over accounted for a significant portion of the overall subscriber growth.
New applications for jobseeker benefits totaled 87,000, a decrease of 2,000 (2.5%) from the previous year. The number of recipients fell by 23,000 (3.7%) to 601,000, and the total payout decreased by 366 billion won (3.4%) to 1.0307 trillion won.
A ministry official stated, "With jobseeker benefit expenditures decreasing each month, 81% of this year's budget has been exhausted as of September. Given the trend, we may fall slightly short of the annual budget, but if there is a budget shortfall, we plan to adjust the fund plan as in previous years to ensure that expenditures remain manageable."
Hiring activity among companies showed slight improvement. The number of new hires reported by Job24 was 170,000, an increase of 4,000 (2.7%) from the previous year, while the number of new job seekers fell by 21,000 (5.6%) to 357,000. The job vacancy ratio, indicating the number of job openings per job seeker, rose to 0.48, up from 0.44 in the same month last year.
However, it is important to note that these statistics are based solely on the job openings and job seekers registered with Job24, and may not fully reflect the overall labor market situation.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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