Employment insurance enrollment among under-30s falls for 46th consecutive month, but pace of decline eases

A job posting board at a university employment center in Seoul [Yonhap]

The number of employment insurance enrollees aged 29 and under has fallen for 46 consecutive months since September 2022, though the pace of decline has been narrowing steadily compared with last year.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said that when accounting for the shrinking youth population, the enrollment trend is actually improving. Total employment insurance enrollment continued to grow by more than 200,000 for the sixth straight month, driven primarily by the services sector.

According to the ministry's June 2026 labor market trends report released Monday, the number of regular employment insurance enrollees stood at 15.855 million as of the end of last month, up 264,000, or 1.7 percent, from the same month last year. Enrollment has grown by more than 200,000 in each of the first six months of this year.

[Provided by the Ministry of Employment and Labor]

By age group, enrollees aged 29 and under totaled 2.227 million, a decline of 63,000. The downward trend has continued for 46 months since September 2022. The gap, which had widened to 113,000 in September last year, has since narrowed consistently to the current 63,000. Enrollees in their 30s rose by 82,000, those in their 50s by 41,000 and those aged 60 and older by 206,000, while the 40s age group fell by 2,000.

The ministry said a significant portion of the decline in youth enrollment reflects the shrinking youth population. The population aged 29 and under fell by 152,000 from a year earlier.

Cheon Gyeong-gi, head of the ministry's future employment analysis division, said enrollees aged 29 and under declined mainly in manufacturing, information and communications, health and welfare, and wholesale and retail, but that the pace of decline is continuing to narrow. "Given the drop in the youth population, the current decrease of 63,000 can largely be attributed to demographic factors, so the enrollment situation itself is not in particularly bad shape," he said.

By industry, the services sector led employment growth. Services enrollment reached 11.122 million, up 279,000 from a year earlier. Health and welfare posted the largest gain at 112,000, followed by accommodation and food service (55,000), business services (26,000), professional and scientific technology (22,000) and education services (20,000).

Manufacturing, by contrast, fell by 9,000 to 3.839 million, marking the 13th consecutive month of decline.

The pace of decline widened in automobiles, chemical products and electrical equipment, while shipbuilding-related transport equipment continued to grow, led by vessel construction. Machinery and equipment returned to growth for the first time in 17 months. Construction also fell by 8,000, led by general construction, extending its losing streak to 35 consecutive months.

The recovery in the services sector was cited as the main driver behind the sustained growth of more than 200,000 in total enrollment so far this year. Cheon said employment in services has been rising, centered on health and welfare and accommodation and food service, and that a recovery in domestic services driven by an increase in foreign tourists also appears to have contributed. "The pace of decline in construction has eased, and the manufacturing decline has stayed within 10,000, which is helping maintain the overall enrollment growth," he said.

The recent restructuring of hypermarkets has also been partially reflected in the data. Cheon said Homeplus has seen a continuous decline in enrollment since last year due to store closures, with decreases of several hundred per month continuing through the first half of this year. "Current enrollment at Homeplus stands at around 12,000," he said.

New applications for unemployment benefits totaled 90,000, up 4,000, or 4.5 percent, from a year earlier. However, the ministry noted this partly reflects the fact that employment centers operated two more working days than in the same period last year. Adjusting for working days, the daily average of new applicants fell by about 4 percent from a year earlier.

New job postings through the Go24 employment platform rose by 32,000, or 21.4 percent, to 183,000 from a year earlier, while new job seekers fell by 3,000 to 384,000. The job-offer ratio — the number of job openings per job seeker — rose to 0.48 from 0.39 in the same month last year.

fact0514@heraldcorp.com