193,000 More Employed Last Year... Annual Increase Remains in 100,000 Range for Second Year

Employment Trends for December 2025 and the Year

Last year, the number of employed people increased by only around 100,000 for the second consecutive year. The data revealed a clear stagnation in youth employment and significant disparities between industries.

According to the "Employment Trends for December 2025 and the Year" released by the National Data Agency on January 14, the annual number of employed people in the previous year was 28,769,000, an increase of 193,000 from the previous year. Compared to the annual increase of 159,000 in 2024, this represents a slight rise, but the growth has remained in the 100,000 range for two consecutive years.

The employment rate for those aged 15 to 64, based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standard, rose by 0.3 percentage points to 69.8%. The employment rate for those aged 15 and over also increased by 0.2 percentage points to 62.9%.

By age group, the number of employed people aged 60 and over increased by 345,000, and those in their 30s increased by 102,000. In contrast, the number of people in their 20s decreased by 170,000, those in their 40s by 50,000, and those in their 50s by 26,000.

Yonhap News Agency

By industry, employment increased in health and social welfare services (237,000), professional, scientific and technical services (54,000), and financial and insurance services (44,000). However, there were significant decreases in construction (-125,000), agriculture, forestry and fisheries (-107,000), and manufacturing (-73,000).

Meanwhile, in December of last year, the number of employed people was 28,209,000, an increase of 168,000 compared to the same month of the previous year. For those aged 15 and over, the employment rate was 61.5%, up 0.1 percentage points from the same month a year earlier. The OECD-standard employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 rose by 0.2 percentage points to 69.6%.

On the other hand, the employment rate among young people aged 15 to 29 fell by 0.4 percentage points to 44.3%. The youth employment rate has been declining for 20 consecutive months.

The number of unemployed people stood at 1,217,000, an increase of 103,000 from the same month a year earlier. The unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points to 4.1%.