Employment in Korea
Korea: Employment was 28,881 in 2025. β² Rising
Latest (2025)
28,881
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
22nd
of 174 countries
All-time high
28,881
in 2025
All-time low
7,563
in 1963
Years of data
63
1963β2025
Employment in Korea, 1963β2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
The most recent figure for employment in Korea is 28,881, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 9.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in Korea peaked at 28,881 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 7,563, in 1963.
Korea ranks 22nd of 174 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8,381 | 7,563 | 9,285 | 7 |
| 1970s | 11,623 | 9,617 | 13,602 | 10 |
| 1980s | 15,228 | 13,683 | 17,560 | 10 |
| 1990s | 19,754 | 18,085 | 21,214 | 10 |
| 2000s | 22,875 | 21,378 | 23,919 | 10 |
| 2010s | 25,951 | 24,218 | 27,231 | 10 |
| 2020s | 28,130 | 27,024 | 28,881 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Korea
More work & labour data for Korea
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (2023)
- Criminal penalties or civil remedies sexual harassment in employment 1 (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 64.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 72.0% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 78.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 56.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages) 71.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 77.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 64.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in Korea?
- Employment in Korea was 28,881 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest employment recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 28,881 in 2025.
- What is the lowest employment recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 7,563 in 1963.
- How does Korea rank for employment?
- Korea ranks 22nd out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 63 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).