🚨 Employment Indicators: The Economic Thermometer, Key Indicators Measuring Job Market Status

Today Korean Social News | 2025.06.12

📌 Hidden Imbalance in Improving Employment Indicators... Employment Increase Centered on Elderly While Youth Employment Decreases

💬 May employment indicators showed recovery with an increase of 245,000 employed people. However, most of the increase was concentrated on people aged 60 and older, and the youth employment rate fell for 13 consecutive months. Traditional quality jobs in manufacturing and construction continued to decline, deepening imbalances in job quality and distribution between generations. Particularly, employed youth aged 15-29 decreased by 115,000 compared to the same month last year, showing that youth employment problems are serious.

Summary

• Employment indicators are key economic indicators that show a country's job situation.
• They measure economic health and citizens' living standards through the number of employed people, unemployment rate, employment rate, etc.
• Recently, generational imbalance due to increased elderly employment and decreased youth employment is a major issue.

1️⃣ Definition

Employment indicators are various statistical indicators that measure a country's labor market situation and job status. Simply put, they show in numbers how much people are working and how difficult it is to find jobs.

Employment indicators serve as the economic thermometer of a country and are important standards for government policy making and economic forecasting.

💡 Why are they important?

• They are key indicators for judging a country's economic health and growth potential.
• They directly show citizens' living standards and welfare status.
• They serve as basic data for government economic and employment policy making.
• They provide important information for individual job strategies and career choices.

2️⃣ Main Components of Employment Indicators

📕 Core Employment Indicators

• Employment indicators consist of several core indicators. The main indicators are as follows:

  • Number of employed people: The total number of people who are actually working. Job creation status is understood through monthly increases or decreases compared to the same month of the previous year.
  • Unemployment rate: The percentage of people who want to work but cannot find jobs. It is calculated as the percentage of unemployed people among the economically active population.
  • Employment rate: The percentage of people aged 15 and over who are actually working. It shows the proportion of working people relative to the total population.
  • Economic activity participation rate: The percentage of people aged 15 and over who are working or looking for work.

• Detailed analysis indicators are also important. The main detailed indicators are as follows:

  • Employment rate by age: Measured by dividing into youth (15-29 years old), middle-aged (30-59 years old), and elderly (60 years old and over).
  • Number of employed people by industry: Tracks job changes by industry such as manufacturing, service, construction, and agriculture/forestry/fisheries.
  • Classification by employment status: Evaluates job quality by dividing into regular workers, temporary workers, daily workers, self-employed, etc.
  • Employment indicators by gender: Analyzes differences in employment rates and unemployment rates between men and women.

📕 Employment Indicator Measurement Methods and Standards

• Employment indicators are measured in standardized ways. The main measurement methods are as follows:

  • Economically Active Population Survey: A sample survey conducted monthly on 35,000 households nationwide.
  • Follows International Labour Organization (ILO) standards to enable international comparison.
  • Based on 15 years old and over, those who worked for 1 hour or more during the survey reference week are classified as employed.
  • Seasonally adjusted indicators that remove seasonal factors are also announced to understand trends.

• There are precautions in interpreting employment indicators. The main considerations are as follows:

  • We should look at qualitative changes together rather than simple numbers. Even if the number of jobs increases, if there are many temporary jobs, it is difficult to see it as substantial improvement.
  • Seasonal fluctuations should be considered. Seasonal characteristics of summer tourism or winter construction may be reflected.
  • The influence of population structure changes should be considered. The decrease in economically active population due to aging may affect indicators.
  • It is important to look at medium to long-term trends rather than short-term fluctuations.

Precautions When Interpreting Employment Indicators

1. Quantitative increase vs qualitative improvement: Increase in the number of employed people does not necessarily mean increase in good jobs
2. Generational gaps: Even if overall indicators improve, specific age groups' situations may worsen
3. Regional differences: There can be big differences between national averages and regional situations
4. Industrial changes: Traditional industry decline and new industry growth can happen simultaneously
5. Special situations like COVID-19: Need to consider the impact of special situations like pandemics on indicators

3️⃣ Recent Employment Indicator Trends and Characteristics

✅ 2025 Employment Indicator Status

• 2025 employment indicators show recovery but structural problems exist. The main status is as follows:

  • The number of employed people in May increased by 245,000 compared to the same month last year, showing significant recovery.
  • The unemployment rate remained at a stable level of 2.9%.
  • The employment rate approached the highest level ever at 63.5%.
  • However, most of the employment increase was concentrated on people aged 60 and over, revealing structural problems.

• There are clear differences in employment situations by generation. The status by generation is as follows:

  • Youth aged 15-29: The number of employed people decreased by 115,000 compared to the same month last year, recording a decrease for 13 consecutive months.
  • Middle-aged people aged 30-59: Slightly increased but the increase was minimal.
  • Elderly aged 60 and over: Significantly increased, accounting for most of the total increase in employed people.
  • This generational imbalance reflects structural changes in the labor market.

✅ Employment Changes by Industry

• Employment increases and decreases are clearly divided by industry. The main trends by industry are as follows:

  • Manufacturing: Shows continuous decline, raising concerns about the decrease in quality jobs.
  • Construction: Employment decreased significantly due to the impact of real estate market recession.
  • Service industry: Overall increased but there are big differences by sector when broken down.
  • Health and social welfare services: Shows continuous growth due to the influence of aging.
  • Information and communication: Maintains growth but shows limited employment increase centered on highly skilled workers.

• Qualitative changes in jobs are also noteworthy. The main changes are as follows:

  • The proportion of regular workers is increasing, but temporary and daily workers still account for a significant portion.
  • New types of jobs are increasing due to the expansion of the platform economy, but there are employment stability issues.
  • Work styles are becoming diverse due to the expansion of remote work and flexible work systems.
  • Short-term contract jobs are increasing due to the expansion of the gig economy.

4️⃣ Related Term Explanations

🔎 Unemployment Rate

• The unemployment rate is the percentage of people among the economically active population who cannot find jobs.
• The unemployment rate refers to the percentage of people who have the will and ability to work but cannot find jobs among the economically active population. The calculation formula is (number of unemployed ÷ economically active population) × 100.
• The main characteristics of the unemployment rate are: first, to be classified as unemployed, one must actively seek employment. Second, one must be in a state capable of working and be immediately available for employment. Third, one must not have worked even one hour for income during the survey reference week.
• The unemployment rate is one of the indicators that most intuitively shows economic conditions. Generally, when the economy is good, the unemployment rate decreases, and when the economy is bad, the unemployment rate increases. However, a low unemployment rate does not necessarily mean good employment conditions, and it should be judged together with employment rates and changes in the number of employed people.

🔎 Economically Active Population

• The economically active population is the population aged 15 and over who are working or looking for work.
• The economically active population refers to the population aged 15 and over who worked for 1 hour or more for income during the survey reference week (employed) plus those who did not work but actively sought employment for the past 4 weeks (unemployed).
• The composition of the economically active population includes: first, employed people including wage workers (regular, temporary, daily workers) and non-wage workers (self-employed, unpaid family workers). Second, unemployed people who are actively seeking employment. Third, the non-economically active population includes students, housewives, and elderly people who have no intention to work.
• The economically active population is an important indicator showing the size of a country's labor supply. The decrease in economically active population due to aging is a common challenge faced by many developed countries. Korea is also expected to see a long-term decrease in economically active population due to declining birth rates and aging, requiring preparation measures.

🔎 Youth Unemployment Rate

• The youth unemployment rate is the percentage of people aged 15-29 who cannot find jobs.
• The youth unemployment rate refers to the percentage of unemployed people among the economically active population aged 15 to 29. It is a separate unemployment rate indicator for youth only, and generally shows much higher levels than the overall unemployment rate.
• The main characteristics of the youth unemployment rate are: first, it appears 2-3 times higher than the overall unemployment rate. Second, it responds more sensitively to economic fluctuations. Third, it reflects the gap between college graduation and first employment. Fourth, job seekers and civil service exam preparers are classified as non-economically active population, which may differ from the actual perceived unemployment rate.
• The youth unemployment rate is an important issue directly related to society's future growth engine. High youth unemployment rates negatively affect individual career formation and can become a waste of human resources and a source of social instability for society as a whole. Recently, Korea is experiencing a phenomenon where youth participation in economic activities itself is decreasing along with a decrease in youth employment rates, requiring comprehensive measures.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Employment indicators are improving, but why does the economic situation still feel difficult?

A: There can be differences between improvement in employment indicators and the actual economic situation people feel for several reasons. First, there are qualitative issues with jobs. Even if the number of employed people increases, if there are many temporary or part-time jobs, income stability decreases and this may not lead to improved economic sentiment. Second, generational gaps exist. When employment increases centered on the elderly and youth employment decreases as currently, youth and middle-aged people who are economically active may still experience difficulties. Third, regional differences are also large. Employment situations differ between metropolitan areas and provinces, and specific regions may have more difficult situations than the national average. Fourth, there are also issues with income growth rates. Even if jobs increase, if actual income does not keep up with inflation rates, real purchasing power may actually decrease. Fifth, employment instability also affects economic sentiment. When unstable jobs like irregular work or platform labor increase, people reduce consumption due to anxiety about the future.

Q: What is the outlook for the employment market in the future?

A: The future employment market is expected to change significantly due to several structural change factors. First, the impact of population structure changes will be large. Due to low birth rates and aging, the economically active population is expected to continuously decrease, and overall labor shortage phenomena are likely to appear. Second, some jobs will disappear and new jobs will be created due to technological advancement and automation. Particularly, simple repetitive work is expected to decrease significantly due to artificial intelligence and robot technology development. Third, changes in industrial structure will also greatly affect the employment market. The transition from manufacturing-centered to service-centered, and then to digital economy will accelerate. Fourth, work styles will also change significantly. Remote work, flexible work systems, and the gig economy will spread further, and the traditional concept of regular employment may change. Fifth, the importance of lifelong education and retraining will increase. Continuous learning and skill updates will become essential to match the rapidly changing technological environment. To prepare for these changes, individuals need to improve digital literacy and strengthen lifelong learning capabilities, and socially, strengthening social safety nets and building job transition support systems will be important.