The number of young people in Korea who are unemployed, preparing for employment, or simply resting at home reached 1.2 million last month, indicating that youth unemployment is becoming increasingly severe. Even among those who managed to find jobs, one in four is a short-term worker with limited working hours, suggesting poor job quality.
According to the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS), the number of unemployed individuals aged 15-29 reached 269,000 last month. Compared to the same month last year (264,000), this is an increase of 5,000 (2.0%) in one year. Notably, the number of unemployed youth, which had been decreasing for three consecutive years from 416,000 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic to 295,000 in 2022, 291,000 in 2023, and 264,000 in 2024, has increased again this year for the first time in four years. Despite the rapidly declining youth population, the number of young people unable to find jobs has increased.
The number of economically inactive young people who are neither working nor seeking employment also increased by 15,000 from a year ago to 4,209,000. Among them, the number of young people "simply resting" without any particular activity reached 504,000, the highest since statistics began in 2003.
The number of "job seekers" among the economically inactive youth was also tallied at 434,000. Specifically, 118,000 young people were attending academies or institutions for employment outside of regular educational institutions, and 316,000 were preparing for employment otherwise. The total number of unemployed people among the economically active population, combined with those "resting" or "job seekers" among the economically inactive population, reached 1,207,000.
Even those who managed to find jobs faced poor employment quality. Among the youth, 936,000 worked less than 36 hours during the survey week. Considering that the total number of employed youth was 3,557,000, one in four employed young people is a short-term worker rather than a full-time worker working five days a week. This indicates a worsening quality of youth employment.
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