South Korea’s monthly average permanent payroll employment reached 16,842,034 in the third quarter of 2026, up 167,628 from a year earlier. Workers aged 60 and over accounted for 125,573 of the increase, or 74.9%, despite representing 13.3% of permanent payroll workers. Employment among people in their 20s fell by 82,836, extending a 15-quarter decline since the first quarter of 2023, while employment among those in their 30s dropped by 3,711 even as their population grew by 81,433. Temporary and daily-hire work among people in their 30s rose by 24,741. An August 2026 survey found 680,000 people in their 20s and 30s classified as taking a rest, with difficulty finding a desired job the most common reason. Permanent payroll workers include wage earners with contracts of at least one year or no fixed term who are subject to company personnel rules.