Employment (current ILO definition - ICLS19) in South Korea
South Korea: Employment (current ILO definition - ICLS19) was 28,881 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Employment (current ILO definition - ICLS19) in South Korea, 2014–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2025, employment (current ilo definition - icls19) in South Korea stood at 28,881. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 9.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment (current ilo definition - icls19) in South Korea peaked at 28,881 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 26,092, in 2014.
South Korea ranks 9th of 71 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Employment (current ILO definition - ICLS19) in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 26,092 | — |
| 2015 | 26,348 | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 26,551 | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 26,868 | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 26,925 | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 27,231 | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 27,024 | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 27,401 | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 28,229 | +3.0% |
| 2023 | 28,549 | +1.1% |
| 2024 | 28,695 | +0.5% |
| 2025 | 28,881 | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 26,669 | 26,092 | 27,231 | 6 |
| 2020s | 28,130 | 27,024 | 28,881 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More work & labour data for South Korea
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 16,840 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 63.91 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 29,824 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 62.02 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.9719 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -0.1065 % change on previous year (2027)
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 64.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment (current ilo definition - icls19) in South Korea?
- Employment (current ilo definition - icls19) in South Korea was 28,881 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest employment (current ilo definition - icls19) recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 28,881 in 2025.
- What is the lowest employment (current ilo definition - icls19) recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 26,092 in 2014.
- How does South Korea rank for employment (current ilo definition - icls19)?
- South Korea ranks 9th out of 71 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment (current ilo definition - icls19) rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Employment (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. Persons in employment are defined as all those of working age who, during a short reference period, were engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit. They comprise employed persons who worked in a job for at least one hour and employed persons not at work due to temporary absence from a job, or to working-time arrangements. For more information, refer to the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database description.