The number of irregular workers in South Korea grew to an all-time high in August, with much of the increase coming from those in their 60s and older, government data showed Tuesday. The number of workers employed on a temporary or time-based contract came to 6.08 million in August, up 2.2 percent, or 131,000, from the same month a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea.

This marked the highest level since the agency started to compile related data in 2002.

The August figure made up 32.4 percent of the country’s total workforce of 18.78 million, a slight drop from the previous year’s 32.6 percent, the data showed.

The largest group of irregular workers, those in their 40s, comprised 21.3 percent, followed by those in their 50s and 60s with 21.1 percent and 19.5 percent, respectively. (Yonhap)