The number of business workers increased by 112,000 in September...Minimum increase in 42 months

Last month, the number of business workers increased by just 112,000 from a year ago, the smallest increase in 42 months.

According to the results of last month's business labor force survey released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, 20.135 million workers or more in Korea were employed as of the end of September, up 112,000 from September last year.

Among the workers, the number of regular workers increased by 27,000 from a year ago and the number of temporary daily workers increased by 55,000.

By industry, health and social services rose 3.9% and professional science and technology services rose 1.5%, but lodging, restaurant and construction continued to decline.

Meanwhile, the total wages of all workers in businesses with one or more regular workers as of August was 3.87 million won, up 3.4% and 120,000 won from a year ago.

The real wage, which reflects the price level, also increased by 1.4% over the same period to 3,379,000 won.