A clear trend has emerged among Generation Z (born 1997–2011), who increasingly prefer so-called "blue-collar" roles such as production and technical jobs over office work.
On Aug. 8, recruiting platform Jinhaksa Catch surveyed 1,800 Generation Z job seekers about their job preferences and found that 68% of respondents "view blue-collar roles positively." That figure was up 5 percentage points from a year earlier.
By contrast, those who answered "neutral" came to 26% and those who answered "negative" to 6%, down 4 percentage points and 1 percentage point, respectively, from a year earlier.
The top reason cited for viewing blue-collar jobs positively was "high pay." Sixty-six percent said it was "because the pay is high," followed by ▲ lower risk of layoffs due to having skills (8%) ▲ less stress from overtime and promotions (8%) ▲ lower likelihood of being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) (6%).
The same trend appeared in job-choice questions. When asked to choose between "a shift-based production job with 70 million won in annual pay" and "an office job with no overtime and 30 million won in annual pay," 60% chose the production job. That was up 2 percentage points from a year earlier.
For those entering production roles, the most desired salary band was 50 million won or more at 23%. That was followed by ▲ 60 million won or more (18%) ▲ 80 million won or more (17%) ▲ 70 million won or more (15%). Other responses included ▲ 30 million won or more (12%) ▲ 40 million won or more (11%) ▲ willing to choose regardless of pay (4%).
The most popular industries were "IT, batteries, and semiconductors" at 32%, ranking first. The 4 percentage-point rise from a year earlier is seen as reflecting favorable market conditions. ▲ Automobiles, shipbuilding, and aviation (25%) ▲ beauty, cooking, and baking (19%) ▲ electricity and electronics (18%) followed.
Lee Byung-hoon, a sociology professor at Chung-Ang University, said, "As the job market worsens, going to college no longer guarantees a lifelong job," adding, "In this environment, young people are moving to build their own skills and career paths directly."