Unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic) in South Korea
South Korea: Unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic) was 3.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Unemployment with basic education in South Korea, 2000–2025
Source: Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total labor force with basic education.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 3.4% for unemployment with basic education in 2025.
That represents a change of up 1.5% on the previous year and up 38.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment with basic education in South Korea peaked at 3.9% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.8%, in 2007.
South Korea ranks 97th of 130 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic) in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of total labor force with basic education | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.9% | — |
| 2001 | 3.5% | -10.0% |
| 2002 | 2.3% | -35.2% |
| 2003 | 1.9% | -16.8% |
| 2004 | 2.2% | +17.0% |
| 2005 | 2.3% | +4.5% |
| 2006 | 2.1% | -10.2% |
| 2007 | 1.8% | -11.7% |
| 2008 | 2.0% | +6.7% |
| 2009 | 2.2% | +13.4% |
| 2010 | 2.6% | +15.6% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | -17.0% |
| 2012 | 1.9% | -10.1% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 2.0% | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 2.4% | +21.0% |
| 2016 | 2.4% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 2.6% | +7.3% |
| 2018 | 3.0% | +14.5% |
| 2019 | 3.4% | +15.0% |
| 2020 | 3.9% | +14.1% |
| 2021 | 3.8% | -3.7% |
| 2022 | 2.9% | -22.6% |
| 2023 | 2.8% | -2.9% |
| 2024 | 3.3% | +17.0% |
| 2025 | 3.4% | +1.5% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 3.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 8.0%, 42% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 3.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.8%, 1.2× the median. (17 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.4% | 1.8% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 1.9% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.4% | 2.8% | 3.9% | 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 unemployment with basic education in South Korea?
- Unemployment with basic education in South Korea was 3.4% in 2025, according to Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment with basic education recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 3.9% in 2020.
- What is the lowest unemployment with basic education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.8% in 2007.
- How does South Korea rank for unemployment with basic education?
- South Korea ranks 97th out of 130 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment with basic education rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 38.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic education). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The percentage of the labor force with a basic level of education who are unemployed. Basic education comprises primary education or lower secondary education according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011).