Job seekers look at job postings during a job fair at the COEX Magok Convention Center in western Seoul, South Korea, on 21 October 2025. File Photo by YONHAP / EPA
Jan. 14 (Asia Today) — South Korea added 193,000 employed people in 2025, but jobs in construction and manufacturing fell sharply and the number of young people outside the labor force rose to one of the highest levels on record, government data showed Tuesday.
The National Data Service said in its “December 2025 and Annual Employment Trends” release that the number of employed people in 2025 totaled 28,769,000, up 193,000 from a year earlier.
By industry, construction employment dropped by 125,000, the largest decline since the statistics were first compiled in 2013. Manufacturing employment fell by 73,000, the biggest decrease in six years since 2019, when it fell by 81,000, the data showed.
By age group, the downturn was most pronounced among people in their 20s. Employment for that group fell by 170,000 in 2025, the largest decline among all age brackets.
The data also showed a surge in young people who were not economically active. The number of “idle” people ages 15 to 29 reached 428,000, the second-highest level since 2020, when it stood at 448,000.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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