The increase in the number of employed persons in January barely stayed in the 100,000 range, the smallest gain in a little over a year since the illegal martial law. Even comparing only January figures, it has been on a steady decline since 2022. With weak youth employment continuing, jobs for older adults also contracted due to the cold weather. Influenced by advances in AI, employment in professional·scientific and technical services fell by the most since 2013.

According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, its ‘Employment Trends for January 2026’ released on the 11th shows the number of employed persons was 27,986,000, up 108,000 from a year earlier. This is the smallest increase since December 2024 (-52,000), when employment fell amid the fallout from the 12·3 illegal martial law of 2024.

The increase in employment has been shrinking for three consecutive months, following November (225,000) and December (168,000) last year. On a January basis, after surging by 1,135,000 in 2022 in the wake of COVID-19, it continued to decline to 411,000 in 2023, 380,000 in 2024, and 135,000 in 2025.

The number of unemployed was also 1,211,000, up 128,000 from a year earlier. The unemployment rate was 4.1%, up 0.4 percentage points year-on-year. On a January basis, it is the highest since 2021.

Weak youth employment shows little sign of improving. The number of employed persons aged 15~29 fell by 175,000 from a year earlier. The employment rate also fell 1.2 percentage points year-on-year to 43.6%. On a January basis, it is the lowest in five years since 2021 (41.1%).

Employment among older adults, which has driven overall gains in the employment rate, is also losing steam. The number of employed persons aged 60 and over increased by 141,000 year-on-year, but in terms of the size of the increase, it was the smallest since January 2021. The employment rate for those 60 and over also fell 0.5 percentage points year-on-year to 41.8%. The Ministry of Data and Statistics explained that a winter cold snap kept seniors from actively engaging in employment activity.

By industry, employment gains and losses diverged. Health and social welfare services added 185,000 employed persons year-on-year. Transportation and warehousing (71,000), and arts·sports and leisure-related services (45,000) also saw increases.

In agriculture·forestry and fishing, the number of employed persons fell by 107,000 due to the impact of population aging. Employment in professional·scientific and technical services also decreased by 98,000, the largest drop since the statistical revision in 2013. This is seen as reflecting a contraction in the labor market due to advances in AI. Employment in construction and manufacturing also fell by 20,000 and 23,000, respectively. In both sectors, the declines were much smaller than in the previous month (63,000).

The ‘taking a break’ population stood at 2,784,000, up 110,000 from the same month a year earlier. This is the highest for January since related statistics began to be compiled in 2003. The increase was large among those aged 60 and over (up 118,000) and those in their 20s (up 46,000).

Bin Hyun-jun, Director of the Social Statistics Bureau at the Ministry of Data and Statistics, said, “It appears that the cold wave led local governments to delay the timing of senior job programs, which seems to have affected jobs for older adults,” adding, “In professional·scientific services, the decrease was in architecture·engineering, and AI may have affected employment in some professional occupations.”

The Ministry of Finance and Economy stated that it would “expand efforts to supplement vulnerable segments of employment, such as youth·regions.”