The monthly pay gap between regular and non-regular workers in South Korea has widened to nearly 2 million won, the largest since the statistic was first compiled. The number of non-regular workers also reached a record high, driven by a sharp increase in such jobs among people aged 60 and over.
Non-regular workers — including fixed-term, part-time and dispatched workers — numbered 8.671 million in August, up 103,000 from a year earlier and the highest on record, according to the results of the August 2026 supplementary survey on types of employment released by the National Data Office on the 21st. It was the third consecutive year of increase. Given that the total number of wage workers rose by 113,000 this year, nearly all of the gain came from non-regular positions.
Non-regular workers accounted for 38.5% of all 22.526 million wage workers, surpassing the previous high of 38.4% recorded in August 2021. By the standards of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, temporary workers made up 27.5% of employment in Korea, above the Netherlands at 25.8%, Japan at 14.2% and Germany at 11.5%.
By age, non-regular workers aged 60 and over rose by 135,000 to 3.18 million, making up 36.7% of the total. Those aged 70 and over increased by 85,000 to 1.29 million, exceeding the 1.184 million non-regular workers in their 40s. By contrast, the number fell by 64,000 among those aged 29 and under and by 20,000 among those in their 40s. An official at the agency said the decline reflected a shrinking population that is reducing the number of employed people overall, adding that young people face greater difficulty finding work than other age groups, which has also cut the number of young non-regular workers.
By industry, health and social welfare services had the most non-regular workers at 1.867 million. By type of employment, fixed-term workers rose by 187,000 to 6.035 million, while part-time workers increased by 152,000 to 4.382 million. Part-time workers made up 50.5% of all non-regular workers, a record high.
Regular workers, meanwhile, numbered 13.855 million, an increase of only about 10,000 from a year earlier. That compares with a gain of about 160,000 last year.
The pay gap widened further. Average monthly pay for non-regular workers was 2.112 million won from June to August this year, up just 24,000 won from a year earlier. Regular workers earned 4.052 million won, up 156,000 won and topping 4 million won for the first time. The gap therefore widened by 132,000 won to 1.94 million won this year from 1.808 million won last year. Non-regular pay stood at 52.1% of regular pay, down 1.5 percentage points from a year earlier.
Excluding part-time workers, however, average monthly pay for non-regular workers came to 3.098 million won, leaving a gap of 954,000 won with regular workers. The low pay of part-time workers and older non-regular workers is seen as pulling down the overall average.
Separately, 68.0% of respondents said they had chosen non-regular employment voluntarily. The most common reason, cited by 59.9%, was satisfaction with working conditions.