Table of Contents

I. H1 2023 Labor Market Overview

II. H1 2023 Labor Market Sectoral Review

III. Employment Outlook for H2 2023

Summary

Due to the tight monetary policy to stabilize inflation and significant external uncertainties, this year’s employment was expected to shrink along with other macroeconomic variables. However, the labor market until H1 2023 had a soft landing at a slower pace than expected. The employment increased while the unemployed and the not-in-labor force decreased, showing a robust labor market overall. Accordingly, the Korea Labor Institute (KLI) made an upward adjustment of the forecast of the increase in the number of employed persons from that of December 2022, predicting that it would “start high, finish low” and maintain a pattern of the number of employed persons in H2 not being as large as in H1. The KLI forecasted that the number of employed persons would rise by about 253,000 persons in H2 of this year, making a total increase of 312,000 persons in 2023 on an annual basis.