Time-related underemployment, female (% of employment) in South Korea
South Korea: Time-related underemployment, female (% of employment) was 2.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Time-related underemployment, female in South Korea, 2012–2025
Source: International Labour Organization. “Labour Force Statistics database (LFS)” ILOSTAT. Accessed January 07, 2025. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/. Measured in % of employment.
Analysis
The most recent figure for time-related underemployment, female in South Korea is 2.7%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.4% on the previous year and up 41.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, time-related underemployment, female in South Korea peaked at 4.1% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2012.
South Korea ranks 60th of 103 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Time-related underemployment, female (% of employment) in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 0.4% | — |
| 2013 | 0.4% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | +152.0% |
| 2015 | 1.9% | +82.0% |
| 2016 | 2.1% | +5.2% |
| 2017 | 2.2% | +6.4% |
| 2018 | 2.3% | +7.4% |
| 2019 | 2.7% | +15.2% |
| 2020 | 4.1% | +50.2% |
| 2021 | 4.1% | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 3.1% | -25.2% |
| 2023 | 2.7% | -11.1% |
| 2024 | 2.8% | +2.9% |
| 2025 | 2.7% | -2.4% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 2.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 3.7%, 74% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 2.7% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.7%, 1.0× the median. (15 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Time-related underemployment, female (% of employment) in South Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +152.0% | 0.4% | 1.1% |
| 2015 | +82.0% | 1.1% | 1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.6% | 0.4% | 2.7% | 8 |
| 2020s | 3.3% | 2.7% | 4.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More gender data for South Korea
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 4,318 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -3.79 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 46,871 (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 46,871 (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 0.0957 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 119,025 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 125,732 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 116,471 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 122,813 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 119,098 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is time-related underemployment, female in South Korea?
- Time-related underemployment, female in South Korea was 2.7% in 2025, according to International Labour Organization. “Labour Force Statistics database (LFS)” ILOSTAT. Accessed January 07, 2025. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.
- What is the highest time-related underemployment, female recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 4.1% in 2021.
- What is the lowest time-related underemployment, female recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2012.
- How does South Korea rank for time-related underemployment, female?
- South Korea ranks 60th out of 103 countries with data for 2025.
- Is time-related underemployment, female rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 41.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization. “Labour Force Statistics database (LFS)” ILOSTAT. Accessed January 07, 2025. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/, published as part of Time-related underemployment, female (% of employment). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Time-related underemployment refers to all persons in employment who (i) wanted to work additional hours, (ii) had worked less than a specified hours threshold (working time in all jobs), and (iii) were available to work additional hours given an opportunity for more work.