Employment Expansion Led by Large Workplaces
Cosmetics Up 8.6%, Pharmaceutical Sector Posts Lowest Growth
5,289 New Jobs Created
Despite the overall slowdown in employment across the manufacturing sector, the biohealth industry has continued to experience relatively stable growth.
According to the 'Q4 2025 Biohealth Industry Employment Trends' released by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute on the 28th, the number of people employed in the biohealth industry in the fourth quarter of last year reached 1,137,000, marking a 4.0% increase compared to the same period the previous year. In contrast to the decline in total manufacturing employment, the number of employees in biohealth manufacturing grew by 3.5%, maintaining its growth trajectory. Employment in the medical services sector also rose by 4.1% year-on-year, outperforming the overall service industry growth rate of 2.0%.
Korean Health Industry Development Institute '2025 Q4 Biohealth Industry Employment Trends'. Korean Health Industry Development Institute
By industry, employment in the pharmaceutical sector increased by 2.0% year-on-year, recording the lowest growth rate within the biohealth industry. This is attributed to a slowdown in growth at workplaces with 300 or more employees, which have a large share of the workforce. While the growth rate slowed across all age groups in the pharmaceutical sector, the decline in employees aged 29 and under widened.
Employment in the medical device industry rose by 2.3% compared to the same period the previous year. In particular, the number of employees at workplaces with 300 or more workers surged by 22.3%, driving the overall increase in employment. However, the number of employees aged 29 and under decreased by 4.3%, representing the largest decline among all segments of the biohealth industry.
In the cosmetics industry, the number of employees increased by 8.6% year-on-year, recording the highest growth rate. Employment rose significantly at workplaces with 300 or more employees, and growth was evenly distributed across all age groups. Notably, the employment growth rate among those aged 29 and under reached 8.5%, indicating a particularly strong influx of young workers compared to other industries.
Employment in the medical services sector increased by 4.1% year-on-year. While large hospitals led this expansion in employment, the number of employees aged 29 and under fell by 0.7%, turning negative for the first time in three quarters.
In the fourth quarter of last year, the biohealth industry created 5,289 new jobs. Of these, the medical services sector accounted for 4,266 positions (80.7%), taking up the majority. This was followed by the pharmaceutical sector with 398 jobs, the medical device industry with 327 jobs, and the cosmetics industry with 298 jobs.
Lee Byungkwan, Director of the Biohealth Innovation Planning Division at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, said, "Even as overall employment conditions in the manufacturing sector are weakening, the biohealth manufacturing industry is maintaining stable employment growth, particularly at larger workplaces. Similarly, the medical services sector is sustaining employment growth centered on large hospitals, resulting in a steady overall increase in industry employment."
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