SEOUL, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of South Korea's wage workers rose faster in the fourth quarter of 2025 on the back of a rapid increase in the health and social welfare industry, statistical ministry data showed Tuesday.
The number of wage and salary worker jobs totaled 21.12 million in the October-December quarter, up 221,000 from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
It was faster than an expansion of 15,000 in the first quarter, 111,000 in the second quarter and 139,000 in the third quarter last year.
Jobs in the health and social welfare, the accommodation and food services, and the science and technology sectors advanced 126,000, 40,000 and 33,000 each, but those in the manufacturing and the construction industries declined 14,000 and 88,000 in the fourth quarter on a yearly basis.
Jobs in the construction industry have kept a downward trend for a ninth successive quarter since the fourth quarter of 2023.
The number of paid workers for those aged 60 and older mounted 246,000 in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, with the figures for those in their 30s and 50s swelling 99,000 and 24,000, respectively.
The readings for those in their 40s and under-20s diminished by 37,000 and 111,000 each. ■
