LU3: Combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force in South Korea
South Korea: LU3: Combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force was 5.82 in 2025. ▼ Falling
LU3: Combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force in South Korea, 2015–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2025, lu3: combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force in South Korea stood at 5.82. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
The figure is down 1.6% on the previous year and down 36.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lu3: combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force in South Korea peaked at 9.69 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 5.82, in 2025.
That places South Korea 47th out of 63 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
LU3: Combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 9.2 | — |
| 2016 | 8.72 | -5.3% |
| 2017 | 8.82 | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 9.25 | +4.9% |
| 2019 | 9 | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 9.69 | +7.7% |
| 2021 | 9.4 | -3.0% |
| 2022 | 7.54 | -19.7% |
| 2023 | 6.23 | -17.4% |
| 2024 | 5.91 | -5.1% |
| 2025 | 5.82 | -1.6% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 5.82 is below the median for high income countries, which is 7.94, 73% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 5.82 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.52, 1.1× the median. (7 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 9 | 8.72 | 9.25 | 5 |
| 2020s | 7.43 | 5.82 | 9.69 | 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 lu3: combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force in South Korea?
- Lu3: combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force in South Korea was 5.82 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest lu3: combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 9.69 in 2020.
- What is the lowest lu3: combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.82 in 2025.
- How does South Korea rank for lu3: combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force?
- South Korea ranks 47th out of 63 countries with data for 2025.
- Is lu3: combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of LU3: Combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).
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. LU3 represents the share of the extended labour force that are in unemployment or the potential labour force. For more information, refer to the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database description.