Unmet healthcare needs depending on employment status.

•22.9% of in Korean respondents said they had failed at least once to have a medical treatment or checkup despite the need. They experienced unmet healthcare needs due to reasons such as economic burden (22.3%) and no time to spare (39.1%).•Non-regular waged workers were more likely to have an unmet need for healthcare due to “economic burden” than regular waged workers.•On the other hand, regular waged workers were less likely to receive necessary healthcare services due to “no time to spare” than non-regular waged workers and economically inactive people.