The number of so-called "youth unemployed," those who have lost their jobs, are preparing for employment, or are simply resting at home, exceeded 1.2 million last month.
Among the youths who found jobs with difficulty, one in four was a "short-term worker" with reduced working hours.
According to the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) on the 15th, the number of unemployed youths aged 15 to 29 last month was 269,000.
Compared to the same month last year (264,000), this represented an increase of 5,000 (2.0%).
As of February, the number of unemployed youths decreased for three consecutive years from 416,000 during the COVID-19 period in 2021 to 295,000 in 2022, 291,000 in 2023, and 264,000 in 2024, but increased again this year after four years.
Despite the rapidly declining youth population, the number of young individuals unable to find jobs has increased.
The number of young people who are neither working nor actively seeking employment also rose to 4.209 million, an increase of 15,000 from a year ago.
Among them, the number of youths who are "just resting" with no particular activities reached 504,000, setting a new record since statistics began being collected in 2003.
Among the non-economic active youth, the number of "job seekers" was also recorded at 434,000. Specifically, there were 118,000 youths attending academies or institutions for job preparation outside of regular educational institutions, while 316,000 were other job-preparing youths.
When adding up the number of unemployed youths among the economically active population and those classified as "resting" or "job seekers" among the non-economically active population, the total was 1.207 million.
Compared to last year (1.134 million), this is an increase of over 70,000 in just one year.
The situation for youths who have secured jobs is also challenging. Among the youth, 936,000 reported working less than 36 hours during the survey week.
Considering that there were 3.557 million employed youths, this means that one in four employed individuals was a "gig worker," a short-term worker rather than a full-time employee who works five days a week.
While some view this trend as a preference for short-term work due to work-life balance, others interpret it as largely influenced by the disappearance of quality job opportunities available to young individuals.