The number of temporary and daily jobs for 20-somethings in South Korea plunged nearly 18 percent in January amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday.

The country had 997,000 temporary and daily workers in their 20s last month, down 17.7 percent, or 214,000, from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

The number of temporary employees plunged by 151,000 in January from a year earlier, with that of daily workers sinking by 63,000.

Temporary workers refer to those who have an employment contract of one month to less than one year. Daily employees have a contract of less than one month.

Watchers attributed the sharp drop in the number of temporary and daily workers in their 20s to the coronavirus outbreak, which has pounded the services sector that heavily relies on them.

Meanwhile, the number of temporary and daily workers in Asia's fourth-largest economy totaled 4.99 million last month, down 13.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data. (Yonhap)