Last year's second half saw Jeju Seogwipo City have the highest employment rate among the basic local ‘city’ regions. Gyeonggi Bucheon, Gyeongbuk Gumi, and Gyeongnam Geoje were noted for having high unemployment rates.
According to the '2024 second half regional employment survey - City, County, District employment indicators' released by the Korean Statistical Information Service on the 20th, the number of employed individuals in the city regions during the last year's second half was 14,062,000, an increase of 56,000 compared to the same period the previous year. The employment rate in city regions was 62.4%, a decline of 0.1 percentage points.
The number of employed individuals in county regions increased by 2,115,000 compared to a year ago. The employment rate recorded was 69.4%, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous year. This is the highest level for the second half since related statistics began being compiled in 2013. The number of employed individuals in the seven special and metropolitan city district regions increased by 93,000, with an employment rate of 59%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points.
Among the city regions, Jeju Seogwipo City had the highest employment rate at 71.4%. It was followed by Chungnam Dangjin City (71.3%) and Jeonbuk Gimje City (68.8%). In county regions, the highest employment rates were recorded in Gyeongbuk Ulleung County (83.5%), Jeonnam Sinan County (79.1%), and Jeonbuk Jangsu County (77.7%). Among the special and metropolitan city county and district regions, the highest employment rates were in Daegu Gunwi County (75.3%), Incheon Ongjin County (74.5%), and Busan Gangseo District (70.3%).
On the other hand, the unemployment rate in the city regions was 2.9%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous year. In county regions, it was 1.1%. The special and metropolitan city district regions recorded an unemployment rate of 3.4%, respectively.
Among the city regions, the highest unemployment rate was in Gyeonggi Bucheon City (5.2%), followed by Gyeongbuk Gumi City (4.8%) and Gyeongnam Geoje City (3.4%). In county regions, the highest unemployment rate was in Gangwon Goseong County (2.6%), while among the special and metropolitan city district regions, Busan Yeongdo District (5.2%) had the highest unemployment rate.
A representative from the Korean Statistical Information Service noted, “In areas with a high population of young people or those in their 30s and 40s, the local unemployment rate can be high,” adding, “Regions with industrial complexes tend to see an increase in unemployment rates as job-seeking activities become more active.”
The regions with the highest proportion of the active population relative to the resident population were Seoul Jung-gu (333.9%), Busan Jung-gu (211.3%), and Daegu Jung-gu (157.5%). The active population includes those employed and unemployed within the same region's enterprises, as well as those not economically active. A high proportion of the active population relative to the resident population indicates a high density of job opportunities in that region, meaning that there are many workers commuting from other areas.