More than one-point-37 million workers involuntarily left their jobs due to corporate bankruptcies, restructuring and other management difficulties last year.

According to Statistics Korea on Sunday, the number of involuntarily unemployed people came to nearly one million 373-thousand in 2024.

The figure represents an increase of some 106-thousand or eight-point-four percent from a year earlier and marks the first increase in four years due to an employment slump amid sluggish domestic demand.

The figure accounts for 42-point-nine percent of the unemployed people last year, meaning that four out of ten retirees left their jobs due to involuntary reasons.

The figure is eight-point-three times the number of people who left their jobs due to retirement or old age.

The number of workers who work less than 18 hours a week also exceeded two-point-five million for the first time last year.