The gap in average monthly pay between permanent employees and non-regular workers in South Korea has widened to nearly 2 million won. Non-regular workers — temporary and contract workers — surpassed 8.67 million, the largest number on record, and their share of all wage earners also hit an all-time high. Non-regular jobs are expanding among older adults while growth in permanent employment has slowed sharply, deepening the divide in the labor market.
Non-regular workers numbered 8.671 million in August, up 103,000 from a year earlier, according to supplementary findings on employment type from the August 2026 Economically Active Population Survey released on the 21st by the Ministry of Data and Statistics. Non-regular employment has risen for three consecutive years.
Non-regular workers accounted for 38.5% of all 22.526 million wage earners, exceeding the previous high of 38.4% recorded in August 2021. With total wage earners rising by 113,000 this year, nearly all of the employment gains were concentrated in non-regular jobs.
Korea's share of temporary workers is also high by international standards. Under Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development criteria, temporary workers make up 27.5% of employment in Korea, above the Netherlands at 25.8%, Japan at 14.2% and Germany at 11.5%.
Non-Regular Workers Aged 60 and Over Reach 3.18 Million, With More in Their 70s Than in Their 40s
Older adults drove the increase. Non-regular workers aged 60 and over totaled 3.18 million, up 135,000 from a year earlier, making up 36.7% of all non-regular workers. Those aged 70 and over rose by 85,000 to 1.29 million, surpassing the 1.184 million non-regular workers in their 40s.
By contrast, non-regular workers aged 29 and under fell by 64,000, and those in their 40s declined by 20,000. "As the population itself shrinks, a decline in the number of employed people naturally follows," an official at the Ministry of Data and Statistics said. "For young adults, employment is harder to come by than for other age groups, so the number of non-regular workers also fell."
By industry, health care and social welfare had the most non-regular workers at 1.867 million. By employment type, fixed-term and other workers unable to continue in their jobs for involuntary reasons rose by 187,000 to 6.035 million. Part-time workers increased by 152,000 to 4.382 million. Part-time workers made up 50.5% of all non-regular workers, the highest share on record.
Permanent employees, by contrast, numbered 13.855 million, an increase of about 10,000 from a year earlier. That compares with a gain of about 160,000 the previous year, a sharp slowdown.
Permanent Pay Rises 160,000 Won While Non-Regular Pay Gains 20,000 Won
The pay gap also widened. Average monthly pay for non-regular workers was 2.112 million won from June through August, up 24,000 won from a year earlier. Permanent employees earned 4.052 million won, up 156,000 won and topping 4 million won for the first time.
The gap in average monthly pay between the two groups widened by 132,000 won to 1.94 million won this year from 1.808 million won a year earlier. Non-regular pay stood at 52.1% of permanent pay, down 1.5 percentage points from a year earlier. Permanent pay rose at a relatively faster rate while non-regular pay edged up, widening the gap.
Excluding part-time workers, however, average monthly pay for non-regular workers rises to 3.098 million won. On that basis, the gap with permanent employees narrows to 954,000 won. The growing share of part-time workers and the rise in older non-regular workers are seen as factors pulling down the overall average for non-regular workers.
Meanwhile, 68.0% of non-regular workers said they had chosen that employment type voluntarily. Among those, 59.9% cited satisfaction with working conditions as the reason, the most common response.
