{
  "id": 15846801,
  "title": "Share of non-regular workers hits highest level since 2003 in Aug.: data",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/share-of-non-regular-workers-hits-highest-level-since-2003-in-aug-data-15846801",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-21T05:02:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/economy/20261021/share-of-non-regular-workers-hits-highest-level-since-2003-in-aug-data"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Korea Times reports that the share of non-regular workers in South Korea's workforce has reached its highest level since 2003, with the proportion of non-regular workers increasing to 38.5 percent in August. This surge comes with a corresponding increase in the wage gap between non-regular and regular workers. As of August, there were 8.67 million non-regular workers in the country, up from 8.56 million the previous year, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The data, which is collected annually in August, shows that the situation has worsened since 2003 when South Korea began compiling related information. Male workers comprise 3.7 million of the non-regular workforce, while female workers make up 4.96 million. The health and social welfare sector employs 21.5 percent of non-regular workers.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Share of non-regular workers hits highest level since 2003 in Aug.: data",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/share-of-non-regular-workers-hits-highest-level-since-2003-in-aug-data",
        "published": "2026-10-21T04:12:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}