South Korea's employment insurance subscribers posted their largest gain in 22 months in January, though persistent slumps in manufacturing and construction suggest the labor market has yet to fully recover, analysts said.
The number of regular employment insurance subscribers reached 15.437 million, up 263,000, or 1.7%, from a year earlier, according to the January employment administration statistics released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Wednesday. The increase marks the largest gain since March 2024, when subscribers rose by 272,000, and the first time the gain has surpassed the 200,000 mark in 15 months, since November 2024's increase of 189,000.
The growth was driven by the services sector, where employment insurance subscribers rose by 277,000 to 17.155 million last month. The increase represents the largest gain in three years.
"The healthcare and welfare industry posted the biggest increase, adding 125,000 subscribers in January," said Cheon Kyung-ki, director of the Future Employment Analysis Division at the Labor Ministry. "Subscribers in the information and communications and wholesale and retail sectors also returned to growth."
Still, officials cautioned against viewing the figures as a sign that the prolonged employment downturn is over. Manufacturing employment insurance subscribers declined by 5,000 in January, marking the eighth consecutive month of contraction. The construction sector logged its 30th straight month of decline, remaining mired in a long-term slump.
Meanwhile, new applications for unemployment benefits rose to 201,000, an increase of 15,000, or 8%, from a year earlier. Recipients of unemployment benefits over the same period rose 3.6% to 621,000. Total benefit payments last month came to 974.2 billion won, staying below the 1 trillion won mark for the third consecutive month.
