The number of jobs held by people in their 40s dropped by around 24-thousand year-on-year during the fourth quarter of 2023, continuing to decline for the second consecutive quarter.

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, there were around 20-point-75 million jobs overall in the October-to-December period, up 293-thousand from a year earlier.

Although the number of jobs has been rising since the agency began compiling related data in 2018, on-quarter growth has been in the negative territory for the eighth straight quarters since Q1 of 2022.

Employment among people in their 20s and younger fell by 97-thousand jobs to continue a five-quarter streak of decline, while jobs among those in their 40s dropped 24-thousand, with the margin of decrease further expanding from the previous quarter.

Jobs in the construction sector decreased by 14-thousand in the fourth quarter, while those in real estate dropped eight-thousand, and in education by 14-thousand.

Those in their 60s and older, as well as those in their 50s and 30s saw jobs grow by 249-thousand, 113-thousand and 52-thousand, respectively.