The number of regular workers in South Korea fell for the first time in three years in 2024, and the salary gap between regular and non-regular employees reached an all-time high, data showed Tuesday.

The number of regular workers came to 13.69 million as of August, down by 147,000 from a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea.

It marked the first fall since 2021, when the figure went down by 94,000.

The number of non-regular workers, including part-time workers, those on temporary contracts and outsourced laborers, rose by 337,000 on-year to 8.46 million as of August.

The proportion of non-regular workers out of the country’s 22.14 million salaried workers, accordingly, rose by 1.2 percentage points from the previous year to 38.2 percent, the second-highest level since the agency began compiling the relevant data in 2003.

The highest proportion was 38.4 percent reported in August 2021The manufacturing, construction, and wholesale and retail sectors shed regular positions in line with th
e decline in their total number of workers.

The dining and accommodations industry and the health care and social welfare field significantly added irregular workers, according to the data.

By age, those in their 60s and older accounted for the largest share of 33.2 percent of the total irregular workers, followed by people in their 50s with 19.6 percent and those in their 20s and teenagers combined with 19 percent.

The number of irregular workers rose by the most on-year among people in their 60s and older among all age groups, followed by those in their 30s and 50s.

Of the total irregular workers, 57.3 percent were women as of August, which was the largest-ever share, the data showed.

The average monthly salary for non-regular workers came to 2.05 million won (US$1,483) from June to August, up 91,000 won from a year earlier.

It was the first time ever that the average salary surpassed the 2 million-won level.

The comparable figure for regular workers was 3.79 million won, and the wage gap between reg
ular and non-regular employees logged the highest ever.

Part-timers accounted for the largest proportion to date of 50.3 percent of the total irregular workers this year.

“A growing number of people, particularly among senior citizens and youth, seek to work when they want and need to,” agency official Im Kyung-eun said. “There has also been an increasing demand for part-time positions.”

Source: Yonhap News Agency