A survey says 94% of small and medium enterprises employ foreign workers given the structural labor shortage caused by the country's low birth rate and aging population. Shown is a scene from May last year at the 2024 Job Fair for International Students at Busan Cinema Center in Busan's Haeundae-gu District. (Busan Global City Foundation)

By Margareth Theresia

A study says 94% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) employ foreign workers given the country's structural labor shortage caused by the low birth rate and aging population.

The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (KBIZ) on Sept. 16 said this in releasing the results of a study on employers hiring foreign labor. The poll was done in July on 503 SMEs each with over 50 employees that hired foreign workers last year.

The findings said 93.8% of the SMEs surveyed had foreign staff and 98.2% planned to maintain or expand their employment levels of such workers.

The outlook for foreign labor demand over the next three years was also positive, with 55.5% expecting to hire more and 41.7% to keep the number the same. This suggested continuing demand for foreign workers

"With the launch of the new administration, businesses employing foreign workers have expressed positive expectations for economic improvement," said Lee Myung-ro, head of KBIZ's Division of SME Labor Policy. "As hiring is set to stay the same or expand, we hope that the stable operation of the Employment Permit System ensures timely supply and demand of human resources."

margareth@korea.kr