Employment in industry, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO) in South Korea
South Korea: Employment in industry, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO) was 32.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in industry, male (% of male employment) in South Korea, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
South Korea recorded 32.5% for employment in industry, male (% of male employment) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 3.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in industry, male (% of male employment) in South Korea peaked at 42.0% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 32.5%, in 2025.
That places South Korea 37th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Employment in industry, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO) in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 41.3% | — |
| 1992 | 42.0% | +1.6% |
| 1993 | 40.7% | -2.9% |
| 1994 | 40.8% | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 41.0% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 40.3% | -1.6% |
| 1997 | 39.6% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 35.3% | -10.7% |
| 1999 | 34.4% | -2.6% |
| 2000 | 35.4% | +2.9% |
| 2001 | 34.7% | -1.9% |
| 2002 | 34.7% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 35.2% | +1.5% |
| 2004 | 34.9% | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 34.9% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 34.5% | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 34.1% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 33.6% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 33.0% | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 33.4% | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 33.1% | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 33.0% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 33.6% | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 34.0% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 33.8% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 33.8% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 33.8% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 33.9% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 33.4% | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 33.5% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 33.4% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 33.3% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 32.8% | -1.6% |
| 2024 | 32.7% | -0.0% |
| 2025 | 32.5% | -0.8% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 32.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.1%, 1.1× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 32.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 25.1%, 1.3× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 39.5% | 34.4% | 42.0% | 9 |
| 2000s | 34.5% | 33.0% | 35.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.6% | 33.0% | 34.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.0% | 32.5% | 33.5% | 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)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 2.96 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.78 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 97,052 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 65,686 (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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in industry, male (% of male employment) in South Korea?
- Employment in industry, male (% of male employment) in South Korea was 32.5% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest employment in industry, male (% of male employment) recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 42.0% in 1992.
- What is the lowest employment in industry, male (% of male employment) recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 32.5% in 2025.
- How does South Korea rank for employment in industry, male (% of male employment)?
- South Korea ranks 37th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment in industry, male (% of male employment) rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Employment in industry, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Employment is defined as persons of working age who were engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit, whether at work during the reference period or not at work due to temporary absence from a job, or to working-time arrangement. The industry sector consists of mining and quarrying, manufacturing, construction, and public utilities (electricity, gas, and water), in accordance with divisions 2-5 (ISIC 2) or categories C-F (ISIC 3) or categories B-F (ISIC 4).