Ministry of Statistics releases 2024 job mobility data

Entrants total 3.48 million — lowest since records began; job changers also fall by 100,000 as labor market stiffens; share of small-firm workers moving to large firms drops to 11.8%

Visitors browse booths at the 2025 Youth Employment Academy AI Talent Festival held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Dec. 2. [Yonhap]
Visitors browse booths at the 2025 Youth Employment Academy AI Talent Festival held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Dec. 2. [Yonhap]

The number of workers entering new jobs last year fell for the third consecutive year, hitting the lowest level since records began. Youth new hires posted the steepest decline of any age group, down 73,000. While the number of workers staying at the same employer grew, both new entrants and job changers declined, leading analysts to warn that labor market mobility is slowing.

According to the Ministry of Statistics' 2024 job mobility statistics released Thursday, the total number of registered employed workers last year stood at 26.25 million, up 105,000, or 0.4 percent, from the previous year.

Registered employed workers refers to wage and non-wage workers identified through administrative records filed with or enrolled in the four major social insurance programs and other public institutions.

Despite the modest overall increase, inflows into and movement within the labor market both declined. Workers who remained continuously employed at the same company — classified as "stayers" — numbered 18.92 million, up 373,000, or 2.0 percent, from the previous year.

By contrast, "entrants" — those who were not employed in 2023 and found new jobs last year — totaled 3.482 million, a decrease of 164,000, or 4.5 percent. Entrants have fallen for three consecutive years since 2022 and reached their smallest number since the statistics were first compiled in 2017.

"Movers," or workers who changed to a different registered employer, also declined, falling 103,000, or 2.6 percent, to 3.848 million.

Youth see steepest drop; workers in their 30s down 36,000

By age group, youth workers aged 15 to 29 recorded the largest decline, with entrants falling by 73,000. Analysts attributed the drop to a shrinking youth population driven by the low birth rate as well as sluggish youth employment.

Entrants in their 30s fell by 36,000, while those aged 60 and older declined by 25,000.

With both new entrants and job changers declining simultaneously, overall job mobility has visibly slowed — a trend interpreted as a sign that labor market dynamism is weakening even as total employment continues to grow.

Fewer workers moving from small firms to large; more changing jobs for lower pay

Looking at movement by company size, 81.4 percent of small and medium-sized enterprise workers who changed jobs moved to another SME, while 11.8 percent moved to a large company — down 0.3 percentage points from 12.1 percent the previous year.

Among workers who left large companies, 56.6 percent moved to SMEs and 37.0 percent moved to other large firms. Analysts said the pattern partly reflects older workers returning to the workforce at smaller companies after retirement.

In terms of wages, 57.8 percent of job changers moved to positions with higher pay, while 41.3 percent moved to jobs with lower pay.

However, the share moving to higher-paying jobs fell 2.9 percentage points from the previous year, while the share moving to lower-paying jobs rose by the same margin — indicating that job changes are less frequently resulting in wage gains.

By age group, workers aged 29 and under had the highest rate of wage-increasing job changes at 63.1 percent, followed by those in their 30s at 61.4 percent, their 40s at 57.8 percent, their 50s at 53.7 percent, and those aged 60 and older at 52.4 percent.


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