Manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment in South Korea
South Korea: Manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment was 15.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment in South Korea, 2000–2025
Source: United Nations Industrial Development Organization – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 15.2% for manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.3% on the previous year and down 13.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment in South Korea peaked at 20.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 15.2%, in 2025.
South Korea ranks 31st of 152 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 20.2% | — |
| 2001 | 19.7% | -2.5% |
| 2002 | 19.1% | -3.1% |
| 2003 | 18.9% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 18.3% | -2.9% |
| 2005 | 17.9% | -2.2% |
| 2006 | 17.4% | -2.8% |
| 2007 | 17.0% | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 16.7% | -1.8% |
| 2009 | 16.2% | -3.0% |
| 2010 | 16.8% | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 16.8% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 16.6% | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 16.9% | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 17.1% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 17.5% | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 17.3% | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 17.0% | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 16.8% | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 16.3% | -2.9% |
| 2020 | 16.2% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 15.9% | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 15.9% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 15.6% | -2.1% |
| 2024 | 15.5% | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 15.2% | -2.3% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 15.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.5%, 1.6× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 15.2% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 8.6%, 1.8× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 18.1% | 16.2% | 20.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.9% | 16.3% | 17.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.7% | 15.2% | 16.2% | 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 manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment in South Korea?
- Manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment in South Korea was 15.2% in 2025, according to United Nations Industrial Development Organization – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 20.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.2% in 2025.
- How does South Korea rank for manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment?
- South Korea ranks 31st out of 152 countries with data for 2025.
- Is manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Industrial Development Organization – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Manufacturing jobs as a share of total employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Manufacturing employment as a proportion of total employment - 13th ICLS (%).