Over 91% of new wage workers are non-regular as pay gap widens to W1.94m

More than 91 percent of the net increase in wage workers this year consisted of non-regular employees, with both the number and share of non-regular workers hitting their highest levels since comparable data became available in 2019. The monthly wage gap between regular and non-regular workers also widened to 1.94 million won ($1,460).

According to a supplementary survey on employment types released Wednesday by the Ministry of Statistics, the number of non-regular workers stood at about 8.671 million in August, up 103,000 from the same month last year. Regular workers numbered about 13.855 million, an increase of 10,000.

Total wage workers came to about 22.526 million, a rise of 113,000. Non-regular workers accounted for 91.2 percent of that net increase. Their share of all wage workers rose 0.3 percentage points to 38.5 percent — the highest in both absolute number and proportion since 2019.

The wage gap also widened. From June to August this year, regular workers earned an average of 4.052 million won per month, up 156,000 won (4.0 percent) from the same period last year. Non-regular workers earned an average of 2.112 million won, an increase of just 24,000 won (1.1 percent).

As a result, the monthly wage gap between regular and non-regular workers grew by 132,000 won — from 1.808 million won last year to 1.94 million won this year — the widest margin since 2019. Non-regular workers' average monthly pay stood at 52.1 percent of what regular workers earned.

The monthly wage figures are not adjusted for differences in working days or hours. Excluding part-time workers, non-regular employees earned an average of 3.098 million won per month, up 61,000 won (2.0 percent) from the previous year. During the survey week, regular workers averaged 40.4 hours of work, while non-regular workers averaged 29.5 hours.

Among non-regular workers, part-timers numbered about 4.382 million, an increase of 152,000. They made up 50.5 percent of all non-regular workers, up 1.1 percentage points. Part-time workers earned an average of 1.146 million won per month and worked an average of 18.6 hours per week.

By age group, workers aged 60 and older drove the growth in non-regular employment. That cohort reached about 3.18 million, up 135,000 — exceeding the overall increase in non-regular workers. Workers aged 60 and older now account for 36.7 percent of all non-regular workers, up 1.2 percentage points.

Non-regular workers in their 30s and 50s also increased, by 39,000 and 11,000 respectively. By contrast, those aged 15 to 29 fell by 64,000, and workers in their 40s declined by 20,000.

By industry, the health and social welfare services sector had the largest number of non-regular workers at about 1.867 million, up 112,000, accounting for 21.5 percent of all non-regular workers. The accommodation and food service industry saw non-regular employment rise by 43,000 to 856,000. The information and communications sector and public administration each recorded declines of 24,000 and 22,000, respectively.

Disparities in workplace benefits were also evident. The share of regular workers receiving severance pay rose 0.6 percentage points to 96.2 percent, while the figure for non-regular workers fell 0.3 percentage points to 45.7 percent. Among non-regular workers, the rates for bonuses, overtime pay and paid holidays stood at 39.2 percent, 31.1 percent and 38.4 percent — down 0.5, 0.1 and 0.6 percentage points, respectively.

Some 68.0 percent of non-regular workers said they had voluntarily chosen their current employment type, up 0.2 percentage points. Among those, 59.9 percent cited satisfaction with working conditions as the main reason. Average job tenure was three years for non-regular workers and nine years for regular workers.