Lowest in 10 Years...Finally, Big Companies Open Recruitment 'Wide'

[Financial News] The confirmed recruitment rate for large companies in the second half of the year has increased significantly compared to last year, indicating a recovery trend in the job market. On the other hand, it was found that both the confirmed recruitment rate and scale for mid-sized companies decreased.
Incruit announced on the 20th that it conducted a '2025 Second Half Recruitment Trend Survey' targeting 591 domestic companies (72 large companies, 107 mid-sized companies, 412 small companies) from July 7 to August 3.
According to the survey, 59.7% of large companies confirmed their recruitment plans for the second half, an increase of 24.8%p compared to the previous year. This was a clear rebound compared to last year's lowest recruitment confirmation rate in 10 years.
On the other hand, the recruitment confirmation rate for mid-sized companies was 43.0%, a decrease of 7.4%p compared to the previous year, the lowest since 2016. Small companies increased by 1.6%p to 49.0% compared to last year.
The recovery trend of large companies was also evident in the recruitment scale. Last year, no companies confirmed triple-digit recruitment, but this year it was recorded at 20.9%. Double-digit recruitment also increased by 5.0%p to 51.2% compared to the previous year. On the other hand, mid-sized companies had only 2.2% triple-digit recruitment, and double-digit recruitment decreased by 12.2%p to 28.3% compared to the previous year. Single-digit recruitment increased to 69.6%, indicating an overall decline. Small companies had single-digit recruitment reaching 90.1%.
In terms of recruitment methods, rolling recruitment accounted for 62.2% of the total, showing dominance. Regular recruitment decreased by 1.8%p to 20.8% compared to the previous year, and intern recruitment increased by 1.5%p to 17.0%.
By company size, the proportion of regular recruitment in large companies was the highest at 63.5%, an increase of 1.6%p compared to the previous year. Intern recruitment decreased by 2.3%p to 9.6%. Mid-sized companies had more rolling recruitment (52.7%), followed by regular recruitment (30.9%) and interns (16.4%). Small companies had an overwhelming proportion of rolling recruitment at 72.2%.
Mi-Young Seo, CEO of Incruit, said, “With the rebound in the recruitment confirmation rate of large companies, job seekers will face a better environment than last year,” adding, “However, the decrease in the recruitment confirmation rate of mid-sized companies, where new job seekers mainly gain experience, is a burden on the market.” She continued, “The gap between regular recruitment and intern recruitment has been narrowing over the past two years,” and “Companies are clearly recognizing intern recruitment as a common method alongside rolling and regular recruitment.”

jimnn@fnnews.com Reporter Ji-Min Shin