Signal Korea's labour force participation rate slips from 64.3 to 63.2 percent by 2033 despite gains in every age group

Summary

KEIS projects that Korea's overall labour force participation rate will edge down from 64.3 percent in 2023 to 63.2 percent in 2033. The rate had been rising for three years after recovering from the 2020 pandemic shock, but retirements of baby boomers and demographic change are expected to reverse that. The paradox is that participation rises within every age group, by 0.4 points for youth, 2.6 points for the core 30 to 54 group, 1.3 points for those aged 55 to 69 and 1.8 points for those 70 and over. The aggregate still falls because older people, who participate less, become a much larger part of the population. The report describes this compositional effect as growing downward pressure on the headline participation rate.