Workers stand in line at a construction site in Seoul, Wednesday. The size of Korea's economically active population is estimated to start declining in five years, leaving the country toface a shortage of 820,000 workers by 2033, according to a report released Monday. Newsis

The size of Korea's economically active population is predicted to start declining in five years and the country will face a shortage of 820,000 workers by 2033, according to a report, Monday.

The analysis by the state-funded Korea Employment Information Service shows that the number of economically active people is expected to increase by only 312,000 from 2023 to 2033, compared to nearly 3.2 million during the previous decade, amid the country's persistently low birthrate.

The size of Korea's economically active population is projected to peak in 2029 and begin declining afterward for many years. As a result, the number of additional workers Korea would need to meet its annual economic growth target of 1.9 percent is expected to exceed 821,000 by the end of 2033, leading to even more severe labor shortages, the report says.

The workforce shortage will be felt more acutely in certain industries than others.

According to the report, Korea's manufacturing industry is expected to face a shortage of 123,000 workers by 2033, followed by the social welfare sector with a shortage of 110,000 workers and the wholesale and retail sector with a shortage of 83,000 workers.

This will not be an issue limited to industries that require relatively low levels of skill. The report states that by 2033, the nation will also need an additional 192,000 expert-level workers and 142,000 office workers.

Meanwhile, the labor shortage will be less pronounced in industries like car-making and education, as the emerging electric vehicle (EV) industry will require fewer workers than the traditional car industry, and a decline in the student population will result in a reduced need for educators.

To counteract this projected shortfall of workers, the researchers called for a systematic and preemptive response from the government, including policy efforts to encourage more people to participate in the labor market and to change regulations so as to allow more women and older adults to remain in the workforce.

"There should be policies to encourage more potential workers to join the workforce, as the rate of participation in the labor market among Korean women, older adults and young people is lower than that of most other countries in the OECD," an analyst at the research center told reporters. "Another thing to focus on is to improve worker productivity, possibly through the development of technology."

Providing more support for women who would juggle between working and raising children and revising labor rules to permit older workers to keep their jobs longer are among the policy ideas the government can consider implementing, the report says.

Another policy the government may want to consider in order to mitigate the challenge is to increase the inflow of foreign workers, according to the analyst.

"The priority should be to activate potential workers in Korea. If that is not enough to fill the labor void, the government may need to consider increasing the number of workers from other countries," the analyst said. "Demand for such workers is expected to grow, especially from businesses like manufacturing and restaurants, based on the patterns and trends observed in recent years."