South Korea Unemployment Rate

South Korea’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 2.7% in November 2025, marking a second straight monthly increase after readings of 2.5% in September and 2.6% in October. The number of unemployed reached 661 thousand, up 5 thousand or 0.7% year-on-year. Manufacturing and construction employment continued to weaken, while youth employment recorded its 19th consecutive month of on-year decline. Still, the economy added 225 thousand jobs in November, up 0.8% from a year earlier, lifting total employment to 29.706 million. The gain reflects a steady upward trend in job creation this year following a brief setback last December, when the country shed 52 thousand jobs. The labor force participation rate came in at 64.8%, up 0.2% from a year ago.