AKP Phnom Penh, the October 21, 2026--
South Korea's non-regular workers hit a record high, driven by higher elderly employment, while the wage gap widened between regular and temporary workers, statistical ministry data showed Wednesday.
The number of non-regular employees totaled 8,671,000 as of August, up 103,000 from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
It represented the largest since relevant data began to be compiled in 2003, keeping an upward trajectory for three consecutive years since 2024.
The number of regular workers added 10,000 to 13,855,000 in the cited period, indicating that non-regular workers accounted for the vast majority of the total increase in salaried employees.
Of a combined 22,526,000 salaried workers, non-regular workers made up 38.5 percent in August, up 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier and surpassing the previous high of 38.4 percent set in August 2021.
By age group, non-regular employees aged 60 and older soared 135,000 to 3,180,000, taking up 36.7 percent of all non-regular workers. It was up 1.2 percentage points compared to the previous year.
While the number of non-regular workers climbed among those in their 30s and 50s, it declined among those aged 29 and under and those in their 40s.
The wage gap between regular and temporary workers worsened. Over the three-month period from June to August, the average monthly wage for non-regular workers rose 24,000 won (18 U.S. dollars) to 2,112,000 won (1,590 dollars).
The average monthly wage for regular workers advanced 156,000 won to 4,052,000 won, topping the 4-million-won mark for the first time.
The wage ratio of non-regular workers to regular ones dropped 1.5 percentage points to 52.1 percent.

AKP-Xinhua