1.        In July 2025, the employment rate for those aged 15 and above was 63.4%, up 0.1%p from the previous year, and the employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 reached 70.2 %, rising by 0.4%p year-on-year. The labor force participation rate stood at 65.0%, increasing by 0.1%p from the previous year, and the unemployment rate was 2.4%, showing a 0.1%p decline from a year ago.

   * Employment Indicators for July (2024→2025, %):   Employment rate: 63.3 → 63.4     Labor force participation rate: 64.9 → 65.0     Unemployment rate: 2.5 → 2.4

By age group, the employment rate picked up for those in their 30s (81.0%, +0.5%p), 40s (80.0%, +0.8%p), and those aged 60 and over (47.8%, +0.7%p), while it decreased for the youth (45.8%, -0.7%p) and those in their 50s (77.6%, -0.2%p).

As of July, 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-July period, the labor force participation rate (64.7%), overall employment rate (62.7%), and the employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 (69.7%) also reached record highs for the corresponding period.

2.        The number of employed persons went up by 171,000 compared to the previous year, continuing a seven-month streak of six-figure gains. For the January-July period, employment rose by 180,000 from a year earlier, continuing to exceed the government’s employment projection for the year (120,000, announced in January 2025).

     * Growth/decline in the number of employed persons (year-on-year, ten thousand):  (Jul, 2024) +17.2  (Jan, 2025) +13.5  (Feb) +13.6  (Mar) +19.3  (Apr) +19.4  (May) +24.5   

                                                                                                                                          (Jun) +18.3   (Jul) +17.1

3.        Among youth, the decline in employment narrowed (-173,000 → -158,000), while the number of young people categorized as “inactive” (neither working nor seeking employment) fell for the third consecutive month from a year ago.

      * Inactive Youth (y-o-y, ten thousand):  (July, 2024) 4.2  (Jan, 2025) 3.0  (Feb) 6.1  (Mar) 5.2  (Apr) 1.5 (May) -0.3  (Jun) -1.8  (Jul) -0.7

However, due to sluggish employment in sectors with a high share of youth employment, such as accommodation and food services and manufacturing, the youth employment rate continued to 

decline, indicating that employment conditions for young people remain challenging.

4.        The government remains committed to strengthening the capacity for private sector job creation and introducing measures to enhance employment support for youth and older workers.

Through the “Growth Strategy Task Force”, measures to boost corporate vitality and foster new industries will continue to be developed, and the second supplementary budget is planned to be executed as quickly as possible, with 85% implementation targeted by the end of September.

Concerted efforts will be made to address trade-related risks, including detailed negotiations with the United States on tariffs and support for those affected by tariff measures.

Steps will be taken to steadily implement ministry-level programs to stimulate consumption, in order to ensure that recent improvements in consumer sentiment are sustained, and sector-specific investment support measures, such as in construction, will continue to be devised.

Furthermore, the government plans to further support job seeking activities and enhance employment incentives for youth, as well as to provide reemployment support for older workers to utilize their experience and expertise.

Please refer to the attached files.