The employment shock sparked by the novel coronavirus pandemic has battered South Korea's temporary workers and other vulnerable groups, including women and youth.

Data by Statistics Korea on Wednesday showed the number of temporary workers dropped by 783-thousand in April, the biggest margin since the agency began tallying related data in 1989.

The employment rate for women between the ages of 15 and 64 was 49-point-eight percent, down one-point-six percentage points. The number of women holding jobs dropped by 293-thousand on-month.

The employment rate among young people fell two percentage points to 40-point-nine percent, with 245-thousand less people with jobs.

The number of people on temporary leave totaled one-point-49 million, up by more than one million on-year for the second consecutive month.