Unemployment rate in South Korea, 2026
Unemployment rate in 2026 (year-to-date through 1 January 2026): Annual value (as of 1 January 2026) — 2.8 % of the labour force. Comparison with the previous year and position in the series history. Official data — International Monetary Fund.
Unemployment rate in 2026: data as of 1 January 2026
- Value: 2.8 % of the labour force
- Change vs 2025: +0.0083 % of the labour force (+0.3 %)
- Position in history: below the 47-year average (average — 3.4949 % of the labour force)
- Series maximum — 6.95 % of the labour force in 1998 (28 years ago)
- Series minimum — 2.0583 % of the labour force in 1996 (30 years ago)
- Value date: 1 January 2026
- Source: International Monetary Fund
Dynamics over neighbouring years
| Year | Value, % of the labour force |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 3.6833 |
| 2018 | 3.8333 |
| 2019 | 3.7833 |
| 2020 | 3.955 |
| 2021 | 3.675 |
| 2022 | 2.8833 |
| 2023 | 2.7083 |
| 2024 | 2.8 |
| 2025 | 2.7917 |
| 2026 | 2.8 |
Full history and interactive chart
Complete series for South Korea — on the Unemployment rate page.
Other years
- Unemployment rate in 2011
- Unemployment rate in 2012
- Unemployment rate in 2013
- Unemployment rate in 2014
- Unemployment rate in 2015
- Unemployment rate in 2016
- Unemployment rate in 2017
- Unemployment rate in 2018
- Unemployment rate in 2019
- Unemployment rate in 2020
- Unemployment rate in 2021
- Unemployment rate in 2022
- Unemployment rate in 2023
- Unemployment rate in 2024
- Unemployment rate in 2025