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.
Employment by status in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 63.7% | — |
| 1992 | 64.2% | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 64.7% | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 65.1% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 65.6% | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 66.0% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 66.4% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 66.6% | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 66.9% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 67.3% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 67.1% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 67.3% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 68.1% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 68.4% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 68.7% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 69.3% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 70.1% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 70.5% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 71.6% | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 72.4% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 72.9% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 72.9% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 73.5% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 74.0% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 74.1% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 74.5% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 74.6% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 74.9% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 75.4% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 75.6% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 76.1% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 76.5% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 76.8% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 77.1% | +0.4% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 77.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 86.7%, 89% of the median. (62 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 77.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 61.9%, 1.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)
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
- 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 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.