The employment rate for young people ages 15 to 29 has been falling for the longest stretch since the global financial crisis.
According to the National Data Service (formerly Statistics Korea) on Oct. 19, the youth employment rate last month was 45.1%, down 0.7 percentage points from a year earlier. It has declined for 17 straight months compared with the same month a year ago.
It is the longest downturn in about 16 years since 2009, during the global financial crisis. At that time, the youth employment rate fell for 51 months from September 2005 to November 2009, due to factors such as an increase in the economically inactive population and sluggish economic conditions.
A shortage of jobs is cited as the main cause of the recent weakness in youth employment. In August, the number of employed in manufacturing fell by 61,000, marking a 15th straight monthly decline, due in part to uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy. The number of employed in construction also decreased by 84,000, posting a 17th consecutive month in negative territory.
Last month, the number of employed increased by more than 300,000 thanks to the effect of people's livelihood recovery consumption coupons, but because the gains were concentrated in short-term positions, the youth workforce instead fell by 146,000.
A hiring stance focused on experienced workers is also a factor dragging down the youth employment rate. In the first quarter of this year, there were a total of 5,467,000 new hires among wage jobs, the fewest since statistics began in 2018. New hires accounted for 26.6% of all jobs, the lowest share on record.