Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Korea
Korea: Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) was 5.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Korea, 1975–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Korea stood at 5.7%.
The figure is down 12.0% on the previous year and down 43.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Korea peaked at 10.3% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 5.4%, in 2023.
That places Korea 135th out of 160 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 9.0% | — |
| 2000 | 10.2% | +13.7% |
| 2001 | 9.6% | -6.4% |
| 2002 | 8.1% | -15.3% |
| 2003 | 9.7% | +19.5% |
| 2004 | 10.1% | +4.3% |
| 2005 | 9.6% | -5.3% |
| 2006 | 9.1% | -4.5% |
| 2007 | 8.0% | -12.2% |
| 2008 | 8.8% | +10.1% |
| 2009 | 9.4% | +6.2% |
| 2010 | 8.7% | -7.6% |
| 2011 | 8.4% | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 7.8% | -6.8% |
| 2013 | 9.1% | +15.8% |
| 2014 | 8.7% | -4.0% |
| 2015 | 10.0% | +15.2% |
| 2016 | 10.3% | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 9.9% | -3.6% |
| 2018 | 10.2% | +3.3% |
| 2019 | 10.0% | -2.9% |
| 2020 | 10.3% | +3.1% |
| 2021 | 8.1% | -20.8% |
| 2022 | 6.7% | -17.5% |
| 2023 | 5.4% | -18.9% |
| 2024 | 6.5% | +19.2% |
| 2025 | 5.7% | -12.0% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 5.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 13.9%, 41% of the median. (70 countries reporting)
- Korea's 5.7% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 8.0%, 71% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 9.0% | 9.0% | 9.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 9.3% | 8.0% | 10.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.3% | 7.8% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.1% | 5.4% | 10.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Korea
More work & labour data for 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, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Korea?
- Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Korea was 5.7% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 10.3% in 2016.
- What is the lowest unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.4% in 2023.
- How does Korea rank for unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24)?
- Korea ranks 135th out of 160 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country.