Employment in industry (% of total employment) in Korea
Korea: Employment in industry (% of total employment) was 23.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in industry (% of total employment) in Korea, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, employment in industry (% of total employment) in Korea stood at 23.4%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and down 8.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in industry (% of total employment) in Korea peaked at 37.2% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 23.4%, in 2025.
Korea ranks 52nd of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Employment in industry (% of total employment) in Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 37.2% | — |
| 1992 | 36.9% | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 35.1% | -4.8% |
| 1994 | 34.7% | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 34.5% | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 33.7% | -2.4% |
| 1997 | 32.4% | -3.7% |
| 1998 | 29.0% | -10.6% |
| 1999 | 28.5% | -1.6% |
| 2000 | 29.1% | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 28.4% | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 28.3% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 28.5% | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 27.9% | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 27.4% | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 26.9% | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 26.5% | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 26.1% | -1.8% |
| 2009 | 25.2% | -3.2% |
| 2010 | 25.8% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 25.6% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 25.4% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 25.6% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 25.8% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 25.4% | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 25.2% | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 25.3% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 25.2% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 24.6% | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 24.6% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 24.6% | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 24.5% | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 24.0% | -1.9% |
| 2024 | 23.7% | -1.4% |
| 2025 | 23.4% | -1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 33.6% | 28.5% | 37.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | 27.4% | 25.2% | 29.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.4% | 24.6% | 25.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.1% | 23.4% | 24.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Korea
More work & labour data for 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 (% of total employment) in Korea?
- Employment in industry (% of total employment) in Korea was 23.4% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest employment in industry (% of total employment) recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 37.2% in 1991.
- What is the lowest employment in industry (% of total employment) recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.4% in 2025.
- How does Korea rank for employment in industry (% of total employment)?
- Korea ranks 52nd out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment in industry (% of total employment) rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Employment in industry (% of total 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).