The government projects that a continued decrease in Korea’s working age population will limit the growth in the number of employed individuals.

In a report Monday, the Employment and Labor Ministry said the accelerating decline in the number of people entering the labor market and the rising number of those exiting the market will act to constrict increases in employment numbers.

The report says the working age population aged 15 to 64 is diminishing and that the pace of decline will only accelerate.

In 2018, South Korea's working age population fell by 52-thousand as 526-thousand people left the labor market while only 474-thousand entered.

The annual increase in the number of employed was 97-thousand last year.