South Korea’s employment rate slow but at an all-time high

The rate of hiring in South Korea may have slowed in comparison to past months, but the country's employment rate has reached its highest.
By: | January 11, 2024
Topics: Employee Experience | News | Recruitment | South Korea

South Korea’s employment rate may have grown at a slower pace in 2023, but the rate of hiring has reached a record high since 2000.

The number of employed people rose 327,000 in 2023, or 1.2% from the year before, totalling 28.41 million, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, the country’s statistics agency. In the month of December alone, South Korea saw an increase of 285,000 jobs, picking up the pace from the previous month’s employment numbers of 277,000.

The number of employees with jobs has grown at a faster pace over the past two years amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, with an additional 816,000, the highest since 2000.

READ MORE: Wage increases top on wishlist for employees in South Korea

The employment rate of people aged 15-64 rose by 0.7% on-year to 69.2%, the highest figure since Statistics Korea started collecting data in 1989, as Yonhap News Agency reported. Hiring has logged on-year growth since March 2021, the data showed.