Employment by status in South Korea
South Korea: Employment by status was 77.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Employment by status in South Korea, 1991–2024
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, employment by status in South Korea stood at 77.1%. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by status in South Korea peaked at 77.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 63.7%, in 1991.
That places South Korea 66th out of 186 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 65.5% | 63.7% | 66.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | 68.8% | 67.1% | 71.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 73.9% | 72.4% | 75.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 76.4% | 75.6% | 77.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More work & labour data for South Korea
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (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 15 56.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 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 15 64.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment by status in South Korea?
- Employment by status in South Korea was 77.1% in 2024, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employment by status recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 77.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest employment by status recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 63.7% in 1991.
- How does South Korea rank for employment by status?
- South Korea ranks 66th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is employment by status rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Employment by status. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of people in employment working as employees, as a percentage of total employment.