한국노동연구원은 2024년 노동시장과 2025년 전망을 분석한 보고서를 발표하였다.
- Employment growth, which averaged 336,000 from January to October last year, slowed to 184,000 during the same period in 2024. Employment growth has slowed, the unemployment rate has increased slightly, and the decline in the economically inactive population is shrinking. The positive changes seen in the employment data through 2023 generally weakened in 2024.
- Labor market growth is expected to be slower in 2025 than in 2024. This is supported by lower growth forecasts from major domestic and international forecasting organizations. The Bank of Korea revised its economic growth forecast for 2025 to 1.9% in November, and the KDI also forecasted a slowdown in growth. The OECD also lowered its growth forecast for next year to 2.1% from 2.2% on December 4. Slower growth tends to have a corresponding impact on the labor market, although there are additional influences from the business outlook and labor supply factors. Employment growth slowed to about 140,000 in H2 2024, but was supported by strong hiring in health care and social welfare, professional, scientific, and technical services, and transportation and warehousing. However, the lack of a significant rebound in domestic demand is likely to limit employment growth in services sector in 2025. The manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for a large share of employment, are also expected to remain sluggish. In addition, downside risks to the global economy, such as rising protectionism in the United States, economic instability in China, and geopolitical conflicts, will also have a negative impact on the labor market. Overall, there are no positive factors in the labor market that could boost job growth.