South Korea adds 113,000 jobs, but youth employment falls for 29th month

South Korea added 113,000 jobs in September 2026 compared with a year earlier, but young people were left out of the gains, according to employment data released by the government on Friday, 16 October 2026. The number of employed people aged 15 to 29 fell by 147,000, the youth employment rate dropped 1.1 percentage points to 44.0 per cent, its 29th straight monthly decline, and the youth unemployment rate rose 0.6 points to 5.4 per cent, the highest September level since 2022. Most of the new jobs went to people aged 60 and over and to health care and social welfare.

On the surface, South Korea's job market looks healthy: overall unemployment is about 2 per cent and the economy has added more than 100,000 jobs a year for three months in a row. Look closer and the gains are lopsided. Jobs are growing among older people, often in care and welfare work, while the number of young people in work has been falling for nearly four years by one measure. When older workers are taking most of the new jobs, a shrinking number of young people in work points to a hard first step into the labour market.

The figures also show how the type of work available is changing. Construction, which takes in many entry-level workers, shed 48,000 jobs, and farm jobs fell sharply. Manufacturing finally turned positive, but only by 16,000. Health and social care, by contrast, added more than 200,000 positions. Young job seekers who trained for office, tech or factory careers are finding that the openings are elsewhere. The government has been reviewing its youth job programmes and has pledged 300,000 job opportunities for young people by 2030, after the youth employment rate for the first half of the year came in at 43.6 per cent.

The story carries a lesson for young Indians, too. India's own urban youth unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 29 rose to 19 per cent in September, and 26.6 per cent for young women in cities, according to the latest labour force survey bulletin. In both countries, headline growth does not guarantee entry-level jobs, and the fastest-growing fields, such as care work, health and services, are not always the ones young people are trained for. Skills that match those sectors, and a willingness to look beyond traditional career paths, matter more than ever.

Short-term: Young South Koreans entering the job market this autumn face fewer openings in construction and agriculture and stiff competition for office and manufacturing roles, while health and welfare employers keep hiring.

Long-term: If young people keep struggling to find a first job, they start careers later and with less experience, which can hold back their earnings for years. The new 15-to-34 bracket will give policymakers a wider view of how young adults are faring.

Who is affected: Job seekers aged 15 to 34 in South Korea, employers in construction, farming and manufacturing, the care sector, and policymakers designing youth employment schemes. Young people in India and elsewhere watching the same shift towards older workers and care jobs may also see parallels.

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