Employment insurance subscribers up 288,000 in September; manufacturing gains for second straight month

Employment insurance subscribers in manufacturing rose for a second consecutive month in September, driven by gains in the semiconductor, shipbuilding and machinery equipment sectors, and the pace of growth accelerated from August. However, when foreign workers admitted under the employment permit system are excluded, manufacturing subscribers still declined, and weakness in youth employment and the construction sector persisted.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's monthly labor market report released Wednesday, the total number of regular employment insurance subscribers stood at about 15.93 million at the end of September, up 288,000, or 1.8 percent, from the same month last year. The gain was 10,000 larger than the 278,000 increase recorded in August, extending a streak of growth in the high-200,000s that has held every month since January.

Manufacturing subscribers totaled about 3.853 million, up 8,000, or 0.2 percent. The sector returned to growth in August for the first time in 15 months and maintained that momentum in September. The monthly change in manufacturing subscribers improved steadily — from minus 7,000 in June and minus 3,000 in July to plus 2,000 in August and plus 8,000 in September.

Subscribers in the other transport equipment manufacturing subsector posted the largest gain within manufacturing, rising by 7,500. Within that group, the shipbuilding and boat construction industry added 5,900 subscribers, extending its streak of consecutive monthly increases to 46 months.

Electronics and telecommunications manufacturing subscribers grew by 5,900. Semiconductor subscribers rose by 7,300, a wider gain than the 6,700 increase recorded the previous month. By contrast, the audio and video equipment segment shed 3,100 subscribers, highlighting divergence within the broader category.

Machinery and equipment manufacturing subscribers increased by 5,100, up from a gain of 2,700 the previous month. Special-purpose machinery — which includes semiconductor manufacturing equipment — added 3,100 subscribers, while general-purpose machinery added 2,000. A narrowing in the rate of decline for metal processing and electrical equipment also contributed to the broader improvement in manufacturing.

The manufacturing rebound, however, reflects a rise in foreign subscriber enrollment. Employment permit system foreign workers (E-9 and H-2 visa holders) in manufacturing increased by 12,000 in September. Excluding those workers, manufacturing subscribers fell by 4,000. The pace of decline has narrowed from 21,000 in June, 15,000 in July and 10,000 in August, but the underlying figure has yet to turn positive.

Divergence across manufacturing subsectors continued. Subscribers in non-metallic mineral products fell by 3,500, textiles by 3,100 and automobiles by 2,000. Chemical product manufacturing shed 2,900 subscribers, marking an eighth consecutive month of decline, driven by ongoing losses in synthetic rubber and plastics and basic chemicals. Cosmetics and other chemical products, however, continued to grow.

Overall subscriber growth was led by the service sector. Service industry subscribers reached about 11.183 million, up 283,000, or 2.6 percent. Health and welfare services posted the largest gain at 114,700, with non-residential welfare facilities — including home-visit welfare services — accounting for 71,500 of that increase. Accommodation and food services added 55,800 subscribers, business services 27,300 and education services 22,400.

Construction sector subscribers fell by 6,000 to 742,000, extending a streak of consecutive monthly declines to 38 months, led by general construction. The pace of contraction has nonetheless been easing, from 8,000 in June to 7,000 in each of July and August.

By age group, subscribers aged 29 and under totaled about 2.21 million, down 55,000, or 2.4 percent. Declines were recorded across manufacturing (21,000), information and communications (15,000), health and welfare (12,000) and professional, scientific and technical services (8,000). The pace of decline among youth subscribers has narrowed from 65,000 in May but has not reversed. In contrast, subscribers in their 30s rose by 88,000, those in their 40s by 6,000, those in their 50s by 41,000 and those aged 60 and older by 207,000.

New applications for unemployment benefits, the number of recipients and total payouts all fell from the same month last year. New applicants numbered 87,000, down 2,000, or 2.5 percent, with construction accounting for 2,700 of the decline and manufacturing for 900. The number of recipients fell by 23,000, or 3.7 percent, to 601,000, while total payouts dropped by 36.6 billion won ($27.3 million), or 3.4 percent, to 1.03 trillion won.

New job postings through the Go24 employment platform rose by 4,000, or 2.7 percent, to 170,000, while new job seekers fell by 21,000, or 5.6 percent, to 357,000. The job-offer ratio — the number of available positions per job seeker — rose to 0.48 from 0.44 in the same month last year, marking a seventh consecutive month of year-on-year improvement.

Employment insurance subscriber figures cover regular subscribers only and exclude daily workers, labor service providers, the self-employed and employed workers not enrolled in employment insurance. Go24 job posting and job-seeking statistics likewise cover only companies and job seekers who used the platform.