Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Korea
Korea: Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) was 18.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Korea, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Korea recorded 18.9% for vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 2.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Korea peaked at 27.1% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 18.9%, in 2025.
That places Korea 125th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 27.1% | — |
| 1992 | 26.8% | -1.4% |
| 1993 | 26.4% | -1.4% |
| 1994 | 26.0% | -1.5% |
| 1995 | 25.6% | -1.6% |
| 1996 | 25.3% | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 25.0% | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 24.9% | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 24.7% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 24.5% | -1.0% |
| 2001 | 24.5% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 24.2% | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 23.8% | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 23.2% | -2.6% |
| 2005 | 22.9% | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 22.5% | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 22.2% | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 22.2% | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 21.2% | -4.5% |
| 2010 | 20.5% | -3.4% |
| 2011 | 20.2% | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 20.3% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 20.0% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 19.5% | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 19.4% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 19.6% | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 19.5% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 19.0% | -2.7% |
| 2019 | 19.2% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 20.0% | +3.7% |
| 2021 | 20.2% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 19.7% | -2.4% |
| 2023 | 19.3% | -2.3% |
| 2024 | 19.0% | -1.6% |
| 2025 | 18.9% | -0.5% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 18.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 10.8%, 1.8× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Korea's 18.9% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 33.9%, 56% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.7% | 24.7% | 27.1% | 9 |
| 2000s | 23.1% | 21.2% | 24.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.7% | 19.0% | 20.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.5% | 18.9% | 20.2% | 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 vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Korea?
- Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Korea was 18.9% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 27.1% in 1991.
- What is the lowest vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.9% in 2025.
- How does Korea rank for vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment)?
- Korea ranks 125th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Vulnerable employment is contributing family workers and own-account workers as a percentage of total employment.