South Korea's employed population rose by 108,000 from a year earlier to 29.13 million in July 2026, extending gains to a second straight month and accelerating from June's 63,000 increase after a 40,000 decline in May. The improvement remained uneven: manufacturing, construction, and agriculture, forestry and fisheries continued to lose jobs, while hiring growth was concentrated in health and social welfare services, public administration, and arts, sports and leisure-related services. Youth conditions stayed especially weak, with employment among people aged 15 to 29 down 191,000 for a 45th straight monthly decline, the youth employment rate down 1.6 percentage points to 44.2%, and the youth unemployment rate up 1.3 percentage points to 6.8%. Against that backdrop, the government is reviewing a Youth Employment Recovery Plan for announcement as early as next week that could raise subsidies for young workers in Special Population Decline Support Zones to ₩800,000 a month for two years, or up to ₩19.2 million, from the current ₩300,000 a month and ₩7.2 million maximum, while also considering broader regional and company support and a possible lower-paying extension to capital-region hires.