1. In June 2025, the employment rate for those aged 15 and above was 63.6%, up 0.1%p from the previous year, and the employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 reached 70.3%, rising by 0.4%p year-on-year. The labor force participation rate stood at 65.4%, increasing by 0.1%p from the previous year, and the unemployment rate was 2.8%, showing a 0.1%p decline from a year ago.
* Employment Indicators for June (2024→2025, %): Employment rate 63.5 → 63.6
Labor force participation rate> 65.3 → 65.4
Unemployment rate 2.9 → 2.8
By age group, the employment rate picked up for those in their 30s (81.0%, +0.8%p), 40s (80.2%, +0.8%p), and those aged 60 and over (48.1%, +0.7%p), while it decreased for the youth (45.6%, -1.0%p) and those in their 50s (77.8%, -0.2%p).
As of June, the labor force participation rate and employment rate for those aged 15 and older, as well as the employment rate for those aged 15 to 64, all reached record highs. For the January-June period, the labor force participation rate (64.6%), overall employment rate (62.6%), and the employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 (69.6%) also marked the highest levels ever recorded for the first half of a year.
2. The number of employed persons went up by 183,000 compared to the previous year, continuing a six-month streak of six-figure gains. For the January-June period, employment rose by 181,000 from a year earlier.
* Growth/decline in the number of employed persons (year-on-year, ten thousand): (Jun, 2024) +9.6 (H2, 2024) +9.9 (Jan, 2025) +13.5 (Feb) +13.6 (Mar) +19.3 (Apr) +19.4
(May) +24.5 (Jun) +18.3
By industry, the service sector continued to post solid job gains (+549,000 → +495,000), although the pace of growth moderated, particularly in healthcare and social welfare, public administration, and information and communications. In the manufacturing sector, employment continued to move down (-67,000 → -83,000) reflecting weak domestic demand and external trade risks. Employment in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector also saw a steeper decline (-135,000 → -141,000), largely due to adverse weather conditions such as heavy rainfall. By employment status, both regular (+362,000 → +318,000) and temporary workers (+25,000 → +58,000) continued to rise, while daily workers went down (-59,000 → -63,000).
3. labor market conditions for young people remain challenging, as the number of employed young people decreased further (-150,000 → -173,000) and the youth employment rate dropped by a wider margin (-0.7%p → -1.0%p).
However, the number of young people categorized as “inactive” (neither working nor seeking employment) fell for the second consecutive month, with the pace of decline accelerating compared to the previous month (-3,000 → -18,000)
* Inactive Youth (ten thousand): (May, 2024) 39.8 (Jun) 42.6 (Jan, 2025) 43.4 (Feb) 50.4 (Mar) 45.5 (Apr) 41.5 (May) 39.6 (Jun) 40.8
4. The government remains committed to expanding quality job creation by revitalizing domestic demand and fostering high-tech industries, while continuing to explore key policy tasks to stabilize employment for vulnerable groups, including youth.
The employment situation and the status of job creation initiatives will be closely reviewed, and communication with the private sector will be strengthened to address employment challenges.
The second supplementary budget aimed at revitalizing domestic demand and stabilizing people’s livelihoods will be promptly implemented, and efforts to manage trade risks – including tariff negotiations with the United States and the minimization of corporate damages – will be sustained.
Through focused development of next-generation high-tech industries such as AI and the advancement of key industries, the government aims to expand the job creation capacity of the economy in the medium to long term.
Not only that, additional policy tasks – such as the expansion of job programs particularly in high-tech fields like AI, including vocational training and work experience opportunities – will be devised to help stabilize employment for vulnerable groups, including youth.
Please refer to the attached files.
