K-pharma industry added 480 new jobs in Q4 of last year

KHIDI reported the employment trends in the healthcare industry

The pharmaceutical industry employed 81,000 workers last year

As of the fourth quarter of last year, 81,000 people were employed in the pharmaceutical industry, a 2.4% increase year-over-year (YoY).

 

New jobs in the medical service area included 4,757 jobs (80.4% of the total count), including healthcare professionals, followed by 480 jobs in the pharmaceutical industry, 438 jobs in the medical devices, and 244 jobs in the cosmetics industry.

 

The Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI, President: Cha, Soon-do) announced the analysis of employment trends in the healthcare industry for the fourth quarter of 2023.

 

The healthcare industry employed 1,050,000 people, a 3.4% (+35,000 people) increase YoY.

 

In Q4 2023, 480 new jobs were created in the pharmaceutical industry, down 14.6% YoY.

Among the healthcare industry workers, 81,000 people worked in the pharmaceutical industry.

 

The sector with the highest increase in the number of employees was the traditional Korean medicine manufacturing business, with a growth rate of 7.9%.

 

After this, there was a 2.6% increase in finished product manufacturing and a 1.3% increase in both biological agent manufacturing and medicinal and antibacterial products manufacturing.

 

Women's employment in healthcare (+3.6% YoY) grew at a higher rate than men's (+2.6%) due to increased women's economic participation across industries.

 

The pharmaceutical industry’s growth rate of female employees (+4.2%) was relatively high.

 

In the medical device industry and medical services sector, the increase in the number of male employees (+2.9%) was relatively higher.

 

The 60-and-above age group had the most noticeable increase in the number of employees, with a growth rate of 9.4% compared to the previous year.

 

This was followed by the 50s (+6.7%), 30s (+4.7%), and 40s (+3.4%), in descending order of growth rate.

 

On the other hand, the number of employees in the youth group (aged 29 and under) decreased by 1.7% compared to the same period last year.

 

This decline appears to be due to a decrease in the youth population and increased economic participation among older people.

 

The proportion of employees with less than 5 years of consecutive years of service was the highest, at 71.1% (748,000 people).

 

Compared to other industries, the healthcare service sector showed an exceptionally high percentage of employees with less than 5 years of consecutive years of service (73.4%).

 

By occupation, the healthcare and medical professionals field had the highest number of new jobs, which totaled 2,496 jobs (42.2%).

 

This was followed by nurses with 1,042 jobs (17.6%), manufacturing operatives with 395 jobs (6.7%), medical technicians·therapists·rehabilitation specialists with 267 jobs (4.5%), and administrative support staff with 266 jobs (4.5%).

 

“The healthcare industry’s job growth in 2023 remains at 3% and shows an upward trend.

 

However, the healthcare industry faces challenges this year, including uncertain foreign economic conditions and prolonged geopolitical risks,” Lee Byungkwan, KHIDI’s Biohealth Innovative Planning leader, said.

 

“It is essential to closely monitor macro-environmental trends and changes in the healthcare industry while proactively exploring emerging markets to respond preemptively,” he added.