After unemployment benefits ran out, 34-year-old Lee Sang-yong turned to daily work at construction sites to cover his living expenses. Lee, who left a small or medium-sized company last year, said that even these assignments have become difficult to secure as the construction slowdown reduces the amount of available work.
His experience reflects a broader contraction in South Korea’s short-term labor market. The number of temporary and daily workers averaged 5.727 million in the third quarter of 2026, down 95,000 from the same period a year earlier, according to figures from the National Data Agency cited by Dong-A Ilbo.
That was the lowest third-quarter total since 1995, when the comparable figure was 5.451 million. The decline has been linked to prolonged weakness in construction and reduced demand for workers in domestic-facing industries, including accommodation and food services.
Construction weakness reaches household incomes
The contraction was particularly pronounced among workers in their 40s and 50s, age groups that often carry substantial household financial responsibilities. Fewer temporary and daily positions can narrow an immediate source of income for people who have lost regular employment or are still searching for a longer-term job.
The available figures cover temporary and daily workers together, so they do not show how much of the overall decrease came from each employment category. Further releases will be needed to establish whether hiring demand in construction and face-to-face services stabilizes, and whether the decline among middle-aged workers continues.