Busan is good

Busan Employment Rate Hits Record High… Number of Regular Workers Surpasses 1 Million

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that its employment indicators are showing overall stable improvement, with noticeable enhancements in key figures such as employment rate, unemployment rate, and the number of regular employees.

According to data released today (16th) by Statistics Korea, Busan’s employment rates for those aged 15 and over and for those aged 15–64 both reached new record highs in June 2025.

○ As of June, Busan’s employment rate stood at 59.0%, an increase of 0.7 percentage points from the same month last year. This surpasses the previous record high of 58.8% (July and September 2002), which occurred during the World Cup and Asian Games boom.

< Major Employment Indicators in Busan > (Unit: %)

Category	2021	2022	2023	2024	Jun. 2024	Jun. 2025
Employment Rate (15+)	56.2	57.1	57.7	57.8	58.3	59.0
Employment Rate (15–64)	63.9	65.4	66.5	66.9	66.8	68.5
Unemployment Rate	3.4	3.0	3.1	3.0	2.8	2.6

※ Source: Statistics Korea, Economically Active Population Survey

Despite a declining population, Busan has seen a consistent rise in employment numbers since February of this year.

○ In June 2025, the total number of employed persons in Busan was 1.717 million, an increase of 15,000 compared to the same month last year. This marks the fifth consecutive month of growth following February’s increase (1.679 million, up 5,000 year-on-year).
(* Monthly employment in Busan (thousands): Jan – 1,637; Feb – 1,679; Mar – 1,699; Apr – 1,709; May – 1,716; Jun – 1,717)

Notably, the number of regular workers surpassed 1 million, setting a new record and ranking first among the seven major cities in terms of increase.

○ Among employment indicators, the number of regular workers has shown a particularly steady upward trend, contributing to the expansion of quality jobs. As of June 2025, Busan recorded 1.003 million regular workers.
○ This represents an increase of 63,000 (6.7%) from the same month last year, the highest ever. It ranks 1st among the seven major cities and 2nd among the 17 metropolitan/provincial governments nationwide.
(* Change in number of regular workers among 7 major cities (thousands): Busan – 63, Incheon – 34, Ulsan – 6, Gwangju – 0, Daegu – -2, Seoul – -8, Daejeon – -9)
(* Monthly regular workers in Busan (thousands): Jan – 974; Feb – 982; Mar – 985; Apr – 994; May – 998; Jun – 1,003)

○ In contrast, the number of non-wage workers (self-employed and unpaid family workers) stood at 318,000, down 36,000 from the same month last year. This suggests that self-employed individuals facing economic difficulties are transitioning to the more stable income source of wage employment.

< Employment by Type in Busan > (Unit: thousands)

Category	2021	2022	2023	2024	Jun. 2024	Jun. 2025
Wage Workers	1,231	1,274	1,307	1,342	1,348	1,398
‣ Regular Workers (1 year+)	847	858	884	939	940	1,003
‣ Temporary Workers (1 mo–1 yr)	301	339	368	356	361	341
‣ Daily Workers (under 1 mo)	82	77	55	46	46	54
Non-Wage Workers	426	405	385	346	354	318

※ Source: Statistics Korea, Economically Active Population Survey

While manufacturing employment is generally declining nationwide, Busan continues to show an upward trend.

○ Busan had 240,000 manufacturing workers in June 2025, up 12,000 from the same month last year. This ranks second only to business, personal, and public services (751,000, up 45,000) in employment growth.

< Manufacturing Employment > (Unit: thousands)

Region	Jun.'24	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Jan.'25	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.'25
Busan	229	230	233	243	246	249	249	257	257	255	258	253	240
Y-o-Y Δ	+9	+6	+11	+24	+23	+27	+31	+39	+35	+33	+36	+28	+12
Korea	4,497	4,474	4,425	4,405	4,415	4,396	4,401	4,396	4,386	4,399	4,397	4,435	4,414
Y-o-Y Δ	+9	-11	-35	-49	-33	-95	-97	-56	-74	-112	-124	-67	-83

※ Source: Statistics Korea, Economically Active Population Survey

This improvement in employment indicators is seen as the result of Busan Metropolitan City’s strong efforts to attract investment and foster talent.

○ Despite the economic downturn, the city secured approximately KRW 3 trillion in investment in the first half of 2025 alone. The total investment attracted during the three years of the 8th mayoral term has reached KRW 14 trillion.
(* Investment attracted: KRW 1.1 trillion in 2022 → KRW 4 trillion in 2023 → KRW 6.2 trillion in 2024 → KRW 3 trillion in H1 2025)

○ This year, the city focused on attracting investments in knowledge service industries such as R&D centers, successfully relocating the R&D centers of major companies like Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries to Busan.

○ The city also achieved remarkable results in R&D, rivaling those of the Seoul Capital Area. Over the past two years, Busan invested a total of KRW 423.7 billion in R&D, and undertook 356 (34.5%) out of 1,033 marine and fisheries AI projects nationwide from 2019 to 2023.

○ To respond to rapidly changing industrial structures, the city is operating the "Busan Digital Innovation Academy (BDIA)" to train 10,000 high-level ICT professionals by 2026, focusing on emerging fields such as AI, cybersecurity, and quantum technology.

○ In addition, the Busan-style Regional Innovation-led University Support System (RISE) has been fully implemented this year. With an investment of KRW 1 trillion over five years, the initiative aims to form industry-academia clusters with local universities and businesses to build a virtuous cycle of talent development, employment and entrepreneurship, and local settlement.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “We will continue to strengthen practical employment policies that connect businesses, youth, and middle-aged citizens to enhance private sector job vitality,” and added, “In line with the direction of the 8th mayoral term, we will solidify the employment safety net, accelerate investment attraction, and foster a private sector-led job ecosystem.”