New jobs for people in their 20s and 30s shrank in the first quarter to the smallest number on record. In particular, new hires for those in their 20s and younger hit the lowest level since statistics began. Even after finding jobs, the youth cohort saw a decline in earned income.
According to the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) on the 30th, new hires for those in their 20s and younger and those in their 30s totaled 2,363,000 in the first quarter of this year, down 23,000 from a year earlier. Based on first-quarter figures, they have fallen for four straight years since 2023, marking the smallest number since related data began in 2018. New hires are the sum of replacement jobs that fill vacancies created by retirements and job changes among existing workers and jobs newly created by corporate formation or business expansion.
New hires for those in their 20s and younger numbered 1,343,000, down 26,000 from last year. This is also the lowest since statistics began. By industry, manufacturing new hires fell by 24,000, the largest drop. They decreased in manufacturing (down 26,000), public administration (down 14,000), and information and communications (down 14,000). Jobs for those in their 20s and younger have declined for 14 consecutive quarters since the fourth quarter of 2022.
New hires for those in their 30s totaled 1,020,000, up 3,000 from a year earlier. The two-year losing streak ended, but the increase was modest. The total number of wage-and-salary jobs for those in their 30s was 4,567,000, up 115,000 from the previous year.
Income after employment also fell. In the second quarter of this year, the nominal earned income of worker households with a household head aged 39 or younger decreased 0.3% from a year earlier, according to the household trend survey. It was the only decline among all age groups and fell for the second straight quarter following the first quarter (-1.0%).
During the same period, the earned income of all worker households increased 0.7%. Those in their 40s rose 1.6%, those in their 50s 2.9%, and those aged 60 or older 2.4%, respectively. By contrast, consumer prices in the first and second quarters of this year rose 2.1% and 3.0%, respectively, from a year earlier.