1. In December 2025, the employment rate for those aged 15 and above was 61.5%, up 0.1%p from the previous year, and the employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 reached 69.6%, rising by 0.2%p year-on-year. The labor force participation rate stood at 64.1%, increasing by 0.2%p from the previous year, while the unemployment rate increased by 0.3%p to 4.1%.
* Employment Indicators for December (2024 → 2025, %): Employment rate 61.4 → 61.5
Labor force participation rate 63.9 → 64.1
Unemployment rate 3.8 → 4.1
By age group, the employment rate picked up for those in their 30s (80.7%, +0.2%p), 40s (80.2%, +0.9%p), 50s (77.6%, +0.4%p) and those aged 60 and over (42.8%, +0.2%p), while it decreased for the youth (44.3%, -0.4%p).
As of December, the labor force participation rate for those aged 15 and older and the employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 all reached their highest levels on record for the month. The employment rate for those aged 15 and older ranked second-highest on record for the same month (with the highest recorded in 2023).
2. The number of employed persons went up by 168,000 compared to the previous year, extending a twelve-month streak of six-figure increases.
* Growth/decline in the number of employed persons (year-on-year, ten thousand): (Dec, 2024) -5.2 (Jun, 2025) +18.3 (Jul) +17.1 (Aug) +16.6 (Sep) +31.2 (Oct) +19.3 (Nov) +22.5 (Dec) +16.8
By industry, supported by the ongoing economic recovery momentum since the second half of 2025, employment growth in the services sector continued, led by wholesale and retail trade (11,000 → 44,000), transportation and warehousing (41,000 → 72,000), and arts sports, and leisure services (61,000 → 55,000).
By employment status, the number of regular workers (+258,000 → +195,000) and daily workers (-29,000 → +25,000) rose, while the number of temporary workers (+65,000 → -7,000) turned to a decline.
3. Among young people, the employment rate continued to fall, although the pace of the decrease narrowed compared to the previous month. The number of economically inactive population (those not in employment or seeking work) remained broadly unchanged from a year earlier.
* Inactive Youth (y-o-y, ten thousand): (Dec, 2024) 4.5 (Jul, 2025) -0.7 (Aug) -1.4 (Sep) -3.4 (Oct) -0.9 (Nov) 0.7 (Dec) 0.0
4. On an annual basis in 2025, the labor force participation rate (64.7%), the employment rate (62.9%), and the employment rate for those aged 15-64 (69.8%) all reached record highs. In addition, the increase in the number of employed persons expanded (159,000 in 2024 → 193,000 in 2025).
By industry, the services sector (+492,000) led overall employment growth. Employment in manufacturing (-73,000) and construction (-125,000), however, remained on a declining trend. Among youth, the employment rate continued to fall, accompanied by an increase in the number of inactive youth.
5. This year, the government will step up efforts to reinforce employment in vulnerable areas, including youth and regions, and to create high-quality jobs. At the same time, it plans to develop tailored support measures to improve employment conditions for job-seeking youth and inactive youth.
The government plans to steadily implement, from the beginning of the year, the key employment tasks of the 2026 Economic Growth Strategy, including expanding youth work experience programs centered on AI, increasing regional employment promotion subsidies, and raising job-seeking allowances.
The characteristics of inactive youth will be closely analyzed by type, and, based on the findings, tailored response measures will be developed, including strengthening employability, providing work experience opportunities, and offering recovery support.
In order to improve private-sector employment conditions, communication with economic organizations will be enhanced. Employment trends will be closely monitored, with support measures explored through the Ministerial Meeting on People’s Livelihood Economy.
Please refer to the attached files.
