It was tallied on the 13th that the number of employed people in their 20s posted the steepest drop since the 1998 foreign exchange crisis.
According to the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) on this day, the average monthly number of employed people in their 20s from January to August this year was 3,279,000. That is down 193,000 from January to August last year (3,472,000).
This is the largest decline since 1998 (-550,000), when the aftermath of the foreign exchange crisis lingered. During the global financial crisis in 2009, the number fell by 142,000, and in 2020, when the impact of COVID-19 was severe, it decreased by 111,000.
Even factoring in the decline in the 20-something population itself, the weakness in employment stood out. From January to August this year, the average monthly population in their 20s was 5.55 million, down 3.5% from a year earlier. However, the rate of decline in the number of employed was a larger 5.6%. As a result, the employment rate for those in their 20s fell 1.3 percentage points (p) from a year earlier to 59.1%. The employment rate for those in their 20s dropping below 60% is the first time in five years since 2021 (56.7%).
By contrast, employment indicators for those in their 30s improved. From January to August this year, the number of employed people in their 30s was 5,615,000. That is up 103,000 from last year (5,512,000). The trend is attributed to youth entering the workforce later than in the past. In June, senior researcher Jeong Ji-un and researcher Lee Hae-yang of the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET), in "Early 20s, moving away from work," analyzed that "there are signs of delayed transition, with labor market settlement being pushed into the 30s."