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An individual reads wished adverts at a job honest held in Daejeon, South Korea, on Nov. 19, 2025. (Yonhap)
Statistics concerning youth employment and earnings point out that hiring has dropped to the bottom ranges seen since 2018, when related statistics started being compiled. The proportion of irregular staff has additionally risen to the best stage in 21 years.
Because the inhabitants of younger working Koreans diminishes, corporations are more and more in search of to rent skilled staff whereas additionally delegating extra duties to synthetic intelligence. Amid such demographic and labor market adjustments, job insecurity continues to worsen for younger Koreans.
In line with information from the Ministry of Information and Statistics’ Korean Statistical Info Service, staff of their 30s and youthful made up 2.4 million new hires within the second quarter of 2025, down 116,000 jobs in comparison with the identical interval final yr. That is the bottom determine to go on document since related statistics started being compiled in 2018.
In comparison with the variety of new hires for the second quarter in 2018 (2.856 million), figures for a similar interval of this yr exhibited a discount of 448,000 jobs.
New hires of staff of their 20s and youthful, the cohort of first-time job seekers, got here out to 1.37 million for a similar interval. That is 84,000 fewer hires in comparison with the identical interval final yr (1.454 million). It was additionally the bottom quantity to go on document for the class.
New hires of individuals of their 30s got here out to 1,038,000, a discount of 32,000 jobs in comparison with the second quarter of 2024 (1.07 million), one other new low.
New job development for younger individuals contracted considerably within the manufacturing and building industries, that are each struggling continued stagnation. Within the second quarter, new hires of staff of their 30s and youthful amounted to 428,000 jobs for the manufacturing trade, a discount of 48,000 in comparison with the identical interval final yr (476,000). The development trade employed 187,000 new staff of their 30s and youthful through the second quarter of this yr, a discount of 32,000 jobs in comparison with the identical interval final yr.
The manufacturing and building industries noticed a mixed discount of 80,000 jobs for younger individuals, comprising 69% of the discount in new hires amongst younger individuals.
Even those that barely handle to get a foot within the door proceed experiencing job insecurity. Among the many 8.11 million wage and salaried staff of their 20s and 30s as of August 2025, 2.57 million of these jobs usually are not full-time common staff (31.7%). That is the biggest proportion of irregular staff amongst younger hires to go on document since 2004.
Among the many irregular positions supplied all through the previous 10 years, positions contracted for a selected time interval elevated probably the most. Amongst wage and salaried staff of their 20s and 30s, the proportion of these in fixed-term contracts rose to 19.6%, in comparison with 12.7% in 2015.
On Friday, related authorities ministries convened a gathering of a process drive for youth unemployment. The duty drive decided that the long-term stagnation in hiring of younger individuals is the mixed results of components like industrial and demographic adjustments, a fluctuating labor market, and a stagnant economic system.
Adjustments within the industrial construction of the Korean economic system have decreased the variety of new jobs. Versus hiring in common intervals as is conventional within the Korean labor market, corporations are more and more hiring on demand. They’re additionally displaying an rising choice for knowledgeable staff versus new hires. This has exacerbated the job-seeking troubles of younger individuals.
Lee Hyoung-il, the primary vice minister of economic system and finance, vowed to “create new jobs that favor younger individuals in industries like AI via development pushed by hyper-innovation” to battle youth unemployment.
By Kim Yoon-ju, workers reporter
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