South Korea Youth Employment Rate Falls to 43.9% for 26th Month as Firms Favor Experienced Hires
Updated
Updated · UPI News · Jul 15
South Korea Youth Employment Rate Falls to 43.9% for 26th Month as Firms Favor Experienced Hires
3 articles · Updated · UPI News · Jul 15
Summary
3.428 million South Koreans aged 15 to 29 were employed in June, down 197,000 from a year earlier, pushing the youth employment rate down 1.7 points to 43.9%.
7% youth unemployment marked a 0.9-point rise—the biggest year-over-year increase since March 2025—as employers shifted away from mass graduate hiring toward workers with prior experience.
28.1% of newly hired college graduates already had work experience in a September business survey, and major companies expected experienced workers to make up 26.9% of second-half 2025 graduate hiring.
63,000 total jobs were added nationwide even as youth hiring weakened, while manufacturing lost 97,000 jobs, construction 67,000 and agriculture, forestry and fisheries 95,000.
200,000 specialists in AI, semiconductors and other advanced industries are to be trained by 2030 under planned government measures, alongside more than 200,000 youth jobs in public and private sectors.