Growing Workforce
The youth unemployment rate dropped to its historic lowest number since statistics have started to be gathered.
The outlook for youth unemployment looks grim as Korea’s top corporations again cut back on recruiting plans. The total number of employed in 2013 was 2.5 million, up by 386,000 from 2012.
However, a snapshot of youth unemployment reveals a different picture. It has been on a steady decline since 2000. In 2013, the number of employed youth was roughly 3,793,000, the lowest figure ever recorded.
But this year’s prospect is even dimmer, according to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI)’s survey of 500 top corporations for the year 2014. 40 percent said in the survey that they had either yet to make recruitment plans, or had no plans to recruit.
KCCI Research Center Labor Study Manager Park Jae-gun said, “There are still uncertain signs as far as economic outlook is concerned. In addition, various factors such as the wage structure controversy and extension of retirement age have impacted corporate recruit plans.”
But some say that if recruitment plans were to increase in the top 30 corporations, which make up 65 percent of the recruitment market, conditions might improve, and any signs of positive economic growth might trigger youth employment.