S. Korea's temporary jobs fall to 31-year Q3 low

South Korea's temporary jobs hit a 31-year low in the third quarter, falling to 5.73 million, according to government data released on Sunday. The decline came as a result of a prolonged construction slump, with the total number of temporary and daily workers decreasing by 95,000 compared to the previous year. Daily workers saw the steepest drop, with a decrease of 38,000 to a record low of 833,000, mainly due to weak employment in the construction sector.

This sector accounted for 74.6 percent of the overall decline, with daily construction workers dropping by 28,000 to 381,000. Workers aged 50 and above experienced the sharpest decline, with a reduction of 21,000. Temporary workers, whose contracts last between one month and a year, fell by 57,000 to 4.89 million in the July-September period.

The accommodation and food services sector saw the largest decrease in temporary workers, dropping by 30,000, followed by construction and information and communications, which each lost 22,000 jobs.