In the previous month, the number of employees in their 20s with permanent positions hit the lowest level since the government began compiling the data. Permanent positions include regular jobs and contracts of one year or longer and refer to relatively stable employment. The drop is seen as the result of population decline from low births and fewer jobs in manufacturing and other sectors that hire many young people.
According to microdata from the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) on Feb. 19, the number of wage workers in their 20s in January this year was 3,085,000, down 179,000 from a year earlier. Of these, 2,042,000 were in permanent positions, a decrease of 175,000 in one year. It is the smallest number since 2014 (2,209,000), the earliest year for which microdata analysis is available. The number of permanent employees has been falling for three consecutive years after peaking at 2,444,000 in January 2023.
Permanent jobs for people in their 20s are shrinking faster than the population is declining. The population in their 20s last month was 5,619,000, down 3.5% from a year earlier, but permanent jobs for people in their 20s fell 7.9%.
Temporary and day labor positions for people in their 20s, with contract terms under one year, also declined. Last month, temporary and day labor jobs for people in their 20s totaled 1,043,000, down 4,000 from a year earlier. That is the lowest level since 2021 (997,000), when the job market was depressed by COVID-19.
As labor market conditions worsen, the number of people "resting," neither working nor seeking work, is also rising. Last month, the population of people in their 20s who were resting was 442,000, the highest for January since 2021 (460,000).
The government said it will expand hiring in the public institutional sector. Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said on X (formerly Twitter) the previous day, "We empathize with the realities and problems of young people, and we will do our best to prepare necessary measures from the perspective of youth."