The annual variety of employed individuals in South Korea final 12 months elevated by 193,000, a determine that was discovered to be in step with the federal government’s employment forecast. Nevertheless, issues are rising over the qualitative deterioration of the job market, as employment for the youth and people of their 40s noticed a simultaneous decline final 12 months.
Based on the “December 2025 and Annual Employment Traits” report launched by the Nationwide Information Company on Jan. 14, the general employment indicators for December of final 12 months and for the whole lot of 2025 confirmed a mixture of exterior development and inside contraction. The variety of employed individuals in December of final 12 months was 28.209 million, a rise of 168,000 from the identical month of the earlier 12 months. The employment fee for the 15-64 age group (OECD normal) rose by 0.2 share factors to 69.6%, sustaining a stable determine.
In December of final 12 months, the variety of unemployed individuals was 1.217 million, a pointy enhance of 103,000 from a 12 months in the past, and the unemployment fee was 4.1%, up 0.3 share factors from the identical month of the earlier 12 months. Particularly, the unemployment fee for the youth (ages 15-29) rose to six.2%.
By business, the image was starkly divided. Whereas the variety of employed individuals elevated within the well being and social welfare providers business (220,000) and the transportation and warehousing business (72,000), it decreased within the agriculture, forestry, and fishing business (-117,000), the development business (-63,000), and the manufacturing business (-63,000). By age group, solely these aged 60 and over (241,000) and people of their 30s (83,000) noticed a rise, whereas the variety of employed individuals of their 20s (-140,000), 40s (-33,000), and 50s (-11,000) all decreased.
In the meantime, on an annual foundation for 2025, the variety of employed individuals was 28.769 million, a rise of 193,000 from the earlier 12 months. This aligns with the forecast (190,000) introduced by the Ministry of Finance and Financial system in its Financial Progress Technique at first of the 12 months and surpasses the forecast (170,000) from the brand new administration’s Financial Progress Technique introduced final August. The employment fee for the 15-64 age group was 69.8%, up 0.3 share factors from the earlier 12 months, marking the very best degree since statistics had been first compiled. The annual unemployment fee remained on the identical degree because the earlier 12 months, 2.8%.
Nevertheless, whereas the variety of employed individuals aged 60 and over elevated by 345,000—greater than the overall annual enhance of 193,000—employment for the youth (15-29) (-178,000), these of their 40s (-50,000), and people of their 50s (-26,000) all noticed a lower. The employment fee for the youth fell by a major 1.1 share factors from the earlier 12 months to 45.0%, the weakest efficiency amongst all age teams.
By business, the variety of employed individuals within the well being and social welfare providers business elevated by 237,000 yearly, supporting your entire job market. In distinction, the development business, which is immediately linked to the home economic system, was hit the toughest, with a lower of 125,000, and the manufacturing business additionally confirmed weakening employment momentum, with a discount of 73,000. The lower within the variety of employed individuals within the development business is the biggest since associated statistics started in 2013, and for the manufacturing business, it’s the largest decline in six years, since 2019 (-81,000).
