South Korea’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 2.7% in August 2026 from 2.8% in the previous month. The economy added 184,000 jobs during the month, marking the third consecutive month of gain and the highest in five months, bringing total employment to 29.15 million 28.96 million a year earlier. Job growth turned positive again in June after declining by 40,000 in May, the first drop in 17 months. Employment gains were led by health and social welfare services (+186,000), followed by arts, sports and recreation (+73,000), and business facility management and support services (+45,000), while education (-24,000), manufacturing (-38,000), and agriculture, forestry and fishing (-109,000) continued to shed jobs. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed people totaled 588,000 in August, down 4,000 from a year earlier, while the economically inactive population rose by 77,000 to 16.30 million. Youth employment rate for those aged 15 to 29 fell to 44.1%, down 1.0 percentage points. source: Statistics Korea
Unemployment Rate in South Korea decreased to 2.70 percent in August from 2.80 percent in July of 2026. Unemployment Rate in South Korea averaged 3.52 percent from 1999 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 7.10 percent in June of 1999 and a record low of 2.40 percent in August of 2023. This page provides - South Korea Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. South Korea Unemployment Rate - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on September of 2026.
Unemployment Rate in South Korea decreased to 2.70 percent in August from 2.80 percent in July of 2026. Unemployment Rate in South Korea is expected to be 2.90 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the South Korea Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 3.10 percent in 2027, according to our econometric models.