South Korea added 193,000 jobs in 2025, maintaining year-on-year employment growth at the 100,000 level for the second straight year despite ongoing losses in manufacturing and construction. Data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics showed the number of employed people rose 0.7 percent to 28.77 million from a year earlier. While youth employment remained sluggish, jobs for those aged 60 and older saw the largest increase.
South Korea's employment landscape in 2025 continued the slowdown seen since the post-pandemic boom. According to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the number of employed people rose by 193,000, or 0.7 percent, to 28.77 million year-on-year. This follows robust growth of 816,000 jobs in 2022—the largest in 22 years—before easing to 327,000 in 2023 and just 159,000 in 2024.
Sector-wise, construction lost 125,000 jobs amid a prolonged downturn, the biggest decline since industrial classifications were revised in 2013. Manufacturing, the economy's backbone, shed 73,000 positions, the largest drop since 81,000 were cut in 2019. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries also lost 107,000 jobs.
In contrast, health and social welfare services added 237,000 jobs, reaching a record 3.18 million workers. Professional, scientific, and technical services gained 54,000, while financial and insurance services added 44,000.
By age, employment for those 60 and older surged by 345,000, the highest among all groups. Jobs for people in their 20s fell by 170,000, partly due to a shrinking population in that cohort. The number of people out of work but categorized as "taking a break" rose by 88,000 to 2.56 million, with 309,000 in their 30s—the highest since records began in 2003.
"In the past, many in their 30s left the workforce for child care or household duties due to marriage or childbirth, but today, more are categorized as taking a break," said Bin Hyun-joon, a ministry official. He noted that hiring for experienced roles and ad hoc practices disadvantage young job seekers.
The employment rate for those aged 15 and older edged up 0.2 percentage points to 62.9 percent, while for ages 15-64 it rose 0.3 points to 69.8 percent. In December, jobs grew by 168,000 year-on-year, down sharply from November's 225,000 and the smallest increase since August's 166,000.
