South Korea's youth employment rate has fallen for 24 consecutive months, the longest stretch of decline since the global financial crisis. April's overall job growth also dropped below 100,000. As the prolonged Middle East war fuels concerns over oil prices and logistics, employment is wavering in domestic-demand and logistics sectors including wholesale and retail, accommodation and food services, and transportation and warehousing.
According to the "April 2026 Employment Trends" released by the National Data Agency on Wednesday, the number of employed people aged 15 and over reached 28.961 million last month, up 74,000 from a year earlier. Employment has now increased for 16 consecutive months since January last year.
The pace of growth, however, has slowed sharply. Job additions fell to 74,000 in April from 234,000 in February and 206,000 in March. On a monthly basis, this marks the weakest trend since a decline of 52,000 in December 2024.
The employment rate also fell. The employment rate for those aged 15 and over stood at 63.0%, down 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier. This is the first year-on-year decline in the overall employment rate since December 2024. The employment rate measures the share of employed people within the total population, including the economically inactive who have no intention of working.
The situation is most serious among young people. The employment rate for those aged 15 to 29 fell 1.6 percentage points from a year earlier to 43.7%, declining for 24 straight months. This is the longest streak of declines since a 51-month drop from September 2005 to November 2009. At that time, the global financial crisis, rising college enrollment rates, and companies' growing preference for experienced hires overlapped.
Looking at unemployment figures alone, the shock appears limited. The number of unemployed people stood at 853,000, down 2,000 from a year earlier. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.9%. However, the number of discouraged job seekers rose by 15,000 to 353,000, turning upward for the first time in five months. This suggests that more people are giving up looking for work altogether.
By industry, the weakness in professional, scientific and technical services was notable. Employment in the sector fell by 115,000 from a year earlier, the largest decline since the industry classification was revised in 2013. The government attributes this largely to a base effect from a sharp increase in employment in the sector in April last year.
Manufacturing also struggled. Manufacturing employment fell by 55,000 from a year earlier, marking 22 consecutive months of decline since July 2024. While semiconductor exports are rising, weak exports in sectors with a large employment-inducing effect, such as automobiles and machinery, are weighing on jobs. Employment in agriculture, forestry and fisheries also dropped by 92,000.
A hiring chill also emerged in domestic-demand sectors. Employment in wholesale and retail trade fell by 52,000 from a year earlier, the steepest decline since February last year. Accommodation and food services employment dropped by 29,000. Transportation and warehousing added 18,000 jobs, but the pace slowed significantly from March.
The government views the prolonged Middle East war as affecting the labor market. Higher oil prices and logistics uncertainty are weighing on consumer sentiment and raising freight costs, putting pressure on jobs in domestic-demand and logistics sectors. "Wholesale and retail and food and lodging are being affected by weaker consumer sentiment, and in transportation, higher oil prices may be acting as a freight cost burden," said Kim Tae-woong, head of the manpower policy division at the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
Health and social welfare services have helped prop up overall employment. Employment in the sector rose by 261,000 from a year earlier, reflecting rising demand for care services and the impact of government-funded direct jobs programs. Arts, sports and leisure-related services added 54,000 jobs, while real estate gained 49,000.
Experts say April's employment slowdown is hard to dismiss as merely a temporary shock. "We will need to see the May employment figures to determine whether this decline is a temporary adjustment tied to the business cycle or a structural factor," said Choi Young-ki, former president of the Korea Labor Institute. "Even if the Middle East war ends, the impact of oil prices could continue for several more months, so whether employment rebounds will also need to be watched over time."
The government expects employment indicators to improve somewhat after May as supplementary budget projects move into full-scale execution. The Ministry of Finance and Economy plans to provide customized job placement services to about 100,000 people through the Youth New Deal and to examine the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the labor market. A joint interagency "Basic Plan for Employment Stability Amid Industrial Transition" will also be announced in the first half of the year.
"As the execution of supplementary budget projects such as high oil price damage subsidies and the Youth New Deal gets into full swing, employment indicators are expected to improve," said Lee Hyung-il, first vice minister of finance and economy. "But downside factors, such as the prolonged impact of the Middle East war, also coexist."
