Output and value added in South Korea's semiconductor-related industries rose sharply on the back of a recovery in chip demand, but employment fell instead of rising. Because chips are a capital- and technology-intensive industry, the export boom translated directly into higher output and value added but did not spill over into job growth.
Total output in the computer, electronics and optical equipment sector, which includes semiconductors, rose 24.9% to 399.31 trillion won in 2024 from 319.81 trillion won in 2023, according to the 2024 input-output tables released by the Bank of Korea on the 21st. Value added in the sector surged 48.8% over the same period to 145.95 trillion won from 98.07 trillion won.
Employment moved in the opposite direction. The number of full-time equivalent workers in the sector fell by about 2,900 to 386,300 in 2024 from about 389,200 in 2023. The employment coefficient, which measures the number of workers needed per 1 billion won of total output, dropped 20.5% to 0.97 from 1.22.
The decline was steeper for the employment-inducement coefficient, which also captures indirect effects. For the computer, electronics and optical equipment sector, the coefficient fell 20.8% to 2.87 workers per 1 billion won in 2024 from 3.62 in 2023. For manufactured goods as a whole, it slipped to 4.7 from 5.1. The average across all industries in 2024 was 7.8, leaving manufactured goods with a relatively weaker employment impact than services at 9.5 and construction at 8.9.
Semiconductors, by contrast, drove growth in Korea's exports and value added. As exports rose in 2024, led by computer, electronics and optical equipment, the share of exports in total demand climbed to 16.1% from 14.7% in 2023, while their share of final demand rose to 31.8% from 29.4%. The share of production induced by exports expanded to 35.1% from 32.7%, and the value-added share to 28.2% from 25.4%.
The central bank said the chip sector's strong rebound from the previous year's slump had a major impact on changes in the economic structure in 2024, but added that because semiconductors generate relatively few jobs, the number of workers whose employment was induced remained close to the prior year's level despite robust exports.
Across the entire economy, the number of full-time equivalent workers fell by 28,000 to 25.96 million in 2024 from 25.99 million. Permanent employees increased by 60,000, but temporary and daily-hire workers fell by 55,000 and self-employed business owners and unpaid family workers by 33,000.
The Bank of Korea left open the possibility that the employment effects of the chip upturn could emerge with a lag. Noting that the number of workers in semiconductor manufacturing has been rising since the start of 2025, a Bank of Korea official said the impact of the chip boom on employment could widen further.
