Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong (front) examines the semiconductor research and development complex of the company, located in Giheung, south of Seoul, in this photo provided by the company on Dec. 22, 2025. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of high-skilled workers in South Korea grew for the fourth consecutive year in 2024, with such jobs in the semiconductor sector increasing by the most, government data showed Wednesday.
The total number of industrial technology workers stood at 1.74 million as of end-2024, up 1.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.
Industrial technology workers refer to high-skilled employees, such as technicians, manufacturers, IT workers, research and development (R&D) personnel, and company executives.
Last year marked the fourth consecutive year such a workforce grew, according to the data.
Over 60 percent of such high-skilled workers were employed in the country’s 12 key industries, including semiconductors, bio, automobiles, defense and IT.
The chip industry saw the largest on-year growth of such jobs at 4.3 percent, followed by the bio and IT industries at 4 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.
High-skilled jobs in the shipbuilding sector grew for the second consecutive year, after declining for eight straight years, the ministry said.
In contrast, the high-skilled workforce in the textile sector shrank last year, marking the fifth consecutive year of decline.
The shortage of industrial technology workers relative to business demand was 39,834. The shortage rate stood at 2.2 percent, remaining unchanged since 2020, according to the data.
(Yonhap)
