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Korea, Rep. — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Korea, Rep., 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
2.68%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +11.5% since 1991
Unemployment for Korea, Rep. was 2.68% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 6.96% in 1998. The lowest was 2.05% in 1996 (about 1.3× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.32% per year.
Korea, Rep. ranks 159 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 85%. The median for East Asia & Pacific is 3.05%, so Korea, Rep. sits below it. It peaked in 1998 and has fallen 61% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 24%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
2.68%
First (1991)
2.41%
Change
+11.5%
Highest
6.96%
in 1998
Lowest
2.05%
in 1996
Average
3.32%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.32%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.68% |
| 2024 | 2.78% |
| 2023 | 2.68% |
| 2022 | 2.86% |
| 2021 | 3.64% |
| 2020 | 3.93% |
| 2019 | 3.75% |
| 2018 | 3.82% |
| 2017 | 3.65% |
| 2016 | 3.65% |
| 2015 | 3.55% |
| 2014 | 3.08% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.