Employment rates in the first half rose in Icheon, Gyeonggi, home to SK hynix, and in Eumseong, North Chungcheong, where semiconductor materials and parts firms are clustered. The semiconductor boom helped. In contrast, the number of employed people fell in district areas within seven special and metropolitan cities, where the share of young people is high.
According to the "Major employment indicators by si/gun/gu in the regional employment survey for the first half of 2026" that the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) released on the 20th, Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, recorded an employment rate of 68.2%, up 1.9 percentage points (p) from a year earlier. It is the second-highest since related statistics began in 2013, following 68.4% in 2022.
Eumseong County, North Chungcheong, also rose 0.5 percentage points to 73.5%. Icheon had the highest employment rate among cities and counties in Gyeonggi, and Eumseong had the highest among cities and counties in North Chungcheong. A Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) official said, "Icheon and Eumseong saw a slight additional improvement in employment rates due to the boom in the semiconductor sector," adding, "In the case of Icheon, the impact of the transportation and warehousing industry, including Coupang, produced a somewhat larger improvement."
The number of employed people in district areas of the seven special and metropolitan cities was 11,565,000, down 25,000 from a year earlier. The employment rate also fell 0.2 percentage points to 58.6%. Following last year (58.8%), it declined for a second straight year. Ongjin County, Incheon (79.7%), and Gunwi County, Daegu (76.6%), were high, while Yeongdo District, Busan (48.6%), and Seogu District, Daegu (50.7%), were low.
The unemployment rate was highest in Gwanak District at 5.6% among 288 cities, counties and districts nationwide. Nationwide, the highest employment rate was in Ulleung County, North Gyeongsang, at 84.3%, followed by Sinan County, South Jeolla (80.4%), and Hadong County, South Gyeongsang (78.1%). A Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) official said, "Ongjin and Gunwi were affected by a lower share of young people, and in the case of Gwanak District, the high share of young people has kept the unemployment rate high for a second year."
Ulleungdo had the highest share of workers commuting within their residence area (100.0%). That means all workers on Ulleungdo reside on Ulleungdo. Jindo, South Jeolla (99.0%), and Taean, South Chungcheong (98.5%), also had high shares of workers commuting within their residence area, while Chilgok County, North Gyeongsang (64.6%), and Muan County, South Jeolla (64.7%), were low.
The share of workers in agriculture, forestry and fisheries was highest in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang (55.9%), while the share in mining and manufacturing was highest in Geoje, South Gyeongsang (40.5%).