KORAlthough the number of employed people increased by more than 100,000 last month, the employment chill for young people persists. Youth employment has decreased for the 45th consecutive month, and the youth unemployment rate rose by the largest margin in 5 years and 6 months.
Reporter Chae Heesun.
University student Park Da-bin recently began preparing for the civil service exam.
With companies drastically scaling back open recruitment and opportunities tilting toward experienced workers over newcomers, and engineering majors over humanities majors, she felt that finding a job would not be easy.
[Park Da-bin / University student: I am applying because I lack experience, but the eligibility requirements state that applicants with experience are preferred. Since the civil service exam is a path you can take purely by studying without looking at specifications....]
According to a survey by the Korea National Statistical Office, the total number of employed people last month increased by 108,000 from a year earlier, recording a double-digit increase in four months.
This is analyzed to be the result of the announcement of civil service exam results and the expansion of public jobs.
However, the situation for the youth demographic has worsened.
Employed youth aged 15 to 29 decreased by 191,000, declining for the 45th consecutive month.
This is not simply due to a decrease in the youth population.
The youth employment rate, which is the proportion of employed individuals among the total youth population, also stood at 44.2%, down 1.6 percentage points from a year earlier and marking a downward trend for the 27th consecutive month.
The youth unemployment rate also rose.
Although young people are preparing for employment by acquiring various certifications and building internship experience,
[Yoo Min-jin / University student: It is very difficult to get a job with just one major. So having a double major is practically a must, and you really need to build up your qualifications....]
The youth unemployment rate rose by the largest margin in 5 years and 6 months since January 2021.
[Kim Kwang-suk / Adjunct Professor at Hanyang University: Because stable jobs are not being supplied, a prominent phenomenon is emerging where young people try short-term, unstable jobs and quickly transition back into the unemployed status.]
The government plans to soon announce measures to create 300,000 jobs spanning the private and public sectors, as well as startups.
However, there are growing concerns that the employment chill for young people could be prolonged due to jobless growth driven by the adoption of AI and growth concentrated primarily in the semiconductor sector.
(Camera: Lee Jae-young | Video Editing: Choi Jin-hwa | VJ: Jung Han-wook)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
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