South Korea adds 113,000 jobs as youth unemployment rises

South Korea added 113,000 employed people in September compared with a year earlier, bringing total employment to 29.266 million, the Ministry of Data and Statistics said in its October 16 report.

Young workers faced weaker conditions. Unemployment among people aged 15 to 29 rose to 5.4%, from 4.8% a year earlier. Their employment rate fell to 44.0%, from 45.1%.

Across all ages, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 2.6%, from 2.7% in August.

Health and social work added 207,000 jobs compared with September 2025. Accommodation and food services lost 97,000 jobs over the same period.

Photograph: kallerna / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped; the adapted photograph is available under the same license.