Ministry of Economy and Finance

Statistics Korea released report on the 'Economically active population survey' on May 14, 2025. The economically active population marked 29.741 million persons in April, which grew 163 thousand persons or 0.6% year-on-year. Please refer to the attached PDF.

On May 14, Acting Minister of Economy and Finance Kim Beomseok chaired the Ministerial Meeting on Economic Affairs and Ministerial Meeting on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness at the Government Complex-Seoul.   * Participants: Acting Minister of Economy and Finance (Chair), Ministers and Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Office for Government Policy Coordination, Financial Services Commission, Statistics Korea, and Vice President of the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade.   According to the Current Employment Situation for April 2025, the number of employed persons increased by 194,000 compared to the same month last year; however, employment in the manufacturing sector showed a deeper downturn. Despite the tariff agreement between the United States and China, global trade conditions remain highly uncertain. Under these circumstances, the government will stay vigilant to secure the safe passage of the Korean economy through the tunnel of uncertainty. To this end, much effort will be devoted to making thorough preparations for trade consultations with the United States, while strengthening support for SMEs and small business owners. In addition, it plans to foster high-tech industrial ecosystems, including secondary batteries and artificial intelligence.   In particular, as U.S. tariff measures are expected to intensify export competition even in third-country markets, the government is reviewing the potential impact on domestic industries and corresponding response strategies. At the same time, additional support measures will be prepared for SMEs that are likely to face substantial tariff-related pressures. First, the government will introduce a one-on-one case officer system to provide tailored support to tariff-affected companies. For exporters to the U.S., an additional KRW 4.2 trillion in special guarantee support for crisis response and KRW 0.4 trillion in emergency operating funds will be made available. Furthermore, the government will work with major logistics companies to raise the discount rate on international shipping service fees from 10% to 15%. Monitoring of unfair trade practices will also be enhanced to prevent tariff burdens from being unjustly passed on to subcontractors.   With an aim to secure the continued growth of the secondary battery and electric vehicle industries, the government will strive to encourage the circular use of batteries. A recycling target system for the use of recycled materials in new batteries will be introduced while proactively creating demand for circular use batteries by distributing reused products to various sectors, including ports and rural areas. Not only that, in order to ensure a smooth supply of recycled materials, the producer responsibility recycling system, which currently applies to only 50 product types, will be expanded to cover all electric and electronic products starting in 2026. Also, low-risk waste generated during battery manufacturing will be excluded from waste regulations as part of efforts to boost recycling.   The government will swiftly secure 10,000 high-performance GPUs to accelerate the provision of AI computing services. Selection of cloud service providers will begin next week, with the goal of launching GPU services in October. This initiative aims to establish AI computing infrastructure by the end of the year to strategically support domestic companies, researchers’ development needs, and national projects.   At the meeting, participants discussed the following agenda items: The “Current Employment Situation for April 2025”, “Additional Support Measures for SMEs Affected by U.S. Tariffs”, “Analysis of the Intensified Competition in Third-Country and Domestic Markets Resulting from U.S. Tariffs and Future Plans”, “Plans to Boost Circular Use of Batteries”, and “Measures to Secure High-Performance GPUs”. Please refer to the attached files.  

In April 2025, the employment rate for those aged 15 and above was 63.2%, up 0.2%p from the previous year, marking the highest April figure on record. The employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 reached 69.9%, rising by 0.3%p year-on-year, also a record high for April. The labor force participation rate stood at 65.1%, increasing by 0.1%p from the previous year, the highest on record for April. The unemployment rate was 2.9%, showing a 0.1%p decline from a year ago.   * Employment Indicators for April (2024→2025, %):    Employment rate: 63.0 → 63.2     Labor force participation rate: 65.0 → 65.1     Unemployment rate: 3.0 → 2.9   By age group, the employment rate picked up for those in their 30s (80.8%, +0.7%p), 40s (79.9%, +0.8%p), and those aged 60 and over (47.5%, +0.7%p), while it remained unchanged for those in their 50s (77.3%, +0.0%p). Although the employment rate decreased for the youth (45.3%, -0.9%p), the rate of decrease narrowed (-1.4%p → -0.9%p) compared to the previous month.   The number of employed persons went up by 194,000 compared to the previous year. By industry, employment moved up in the service sector (+567,000 → +606,000), while it moved down in construction (-185,000 → -150,000), manufacturing (-112,000 → -124,000) and agriculture, forestry and fisheries (-79,000→ -134,000). By employment status, both regular (+234,000 → +279,000) and temporary workers (+126,000 → +52,000) continued to rise, while daily workers went down (-100,000 → -54,000).   * Growth/decline in the number of employed persons (year-on-year, ten thousand):  (Q2, 2024) +14.6  (Q3) +14.6  (Q4) +5.2  (Jan, 2025) +13.5  (Feb) +13.6  (Mar) +19.3  (Apr) +19.4   The number of employed persons recorded double-digit growth for the fourth consecutive month, leading to the highest employment and labor force participation rates for April on record. In particular, employment in the service sector saw a significant increase, driven by growth in professional science, education services, and information and communications; continued employment gains in health and social welfare services and public administration – supported by direct job creation programs and rising demand for care services – further contributed to the expansion.   However, owing to delays in the recovery of economic sentiment amid external uncertainties such as U.S. tariff policies, the decline in manufacturing employment has deepened. Employment in the construction and agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors has also continued to fall, indicating a sustained downward trend in key industries. Under these circumstances, the government is committed to further strengthening its efforts to manage internal and external risks, create jobs in the private sector, and ensure employment stability for vulnerable groups.   To this end, the government will strive to swiftly execute the supplementary budget aimed at supporting export-oriented firms affected by tariffs and preemptively responding to employment shocks so that the impact of external uncertainties on domestic demand can be minimized.   Furthermore, the government plans to sequentially develop measures to shore up the competitiveness of major industries, while developing fundamental strategies to revitalize the construction sector to support job creation.   Last but not least, the government will steadily implement and manage youth employment programs – including the All-Care Platform for Youth Employment, work experience opportunities, and vocational training – continuously devising additional policy tasks. Please refer to the attached files.