Part time employment, total (% of total employment) in South Korea
South Korea: Part time employment, total (% of total employment) was 26.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Part time employment, total in South Korea, 2000–2025
Source: Wages and Working Time Statistics database (COND), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total employment.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 26.4% for part time employment, total in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 17.4% on the previous year and up 55.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, part time employment, total in South Korea peaked at 31.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 11.1%, in 2000.
That places South Korea 57th out of 115 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Part time employment, total (% of total employment) in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of total employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 11.1% | — |
| 2001 | 11.4% | +2.9% |
| 2002 | 11.9% | +4.1% |
| 2003 | 12.7% | +6.9% |
| 2004 | 13.4% | +5.8% |
| 2005 | 14.2% | +6.0% |
| 2006 | 13.9% | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 14.6% | +5.2% |
| 2008 | 16.3% | +11.7% |
| 2009 | 15.2% | -6.8% |
| 2010 | 17.1% | +12.3% |
| 2011 | 20.7% | +21.1% |
| 2012 | 16.5% | -20.2% |
| 2013 | 20.5% | +23.8% |
| 2014 | 17.2% | -15.8% |
| 2015 | 16.9% | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 18.4% | +8.6% |
| 2017 | 17.8% | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 20.6% | +15.3% |
| 2019 | 21.2% | +2.9% |
| 2020 | 24.9% | +17.5% |
| 2021 | 26.0% | +4.4% |
| 2022 | 30.0% | +15.5% |
| 2023 | 25.0% | -16.6% |
| 2024 | 31.9% | +27.5% |
| 2025 | 26.4% | -17.4% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 26.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 32.0%, 82% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 26.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 22.9%, 1.1× the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 13.5% | 11.1% | 16.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.7% | 16.5% | 21.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.4% | 24.9% | 31.9% | 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 part time employment, total in South Korea?
- Part time employment, total in South Korea was 26.4% in 2025, according to Wages and Working Time Statistics database (COND), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest part time employment, total recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 31.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest part time employment, total recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.1% in 2000.
- How does South Korea rank for part time employment, total?
- South Korea ranks 57th out of 115 countries with data for 2025.
- Is part time employment, total rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 55.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Wages and Working Time Statistics database (COND), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Part time employment, total (% of total employment). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Part-time employment rate represents the percentage of employment that is part time. Part time employment in this series is based on a common definition of less than 35 actual weekly hours worked.