Employment Rose by More Than 100,000, but Youth Unemployment Hit a 5.5-Year High

Youth employment is deteriorating further. In July, the youth unemployment rate rose by the largest margin in five and a half years. The decline reflects a combination of factors, including companies cutting new hiring amid replacement by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation robots, as well as a mismatch in jobs caused by young people’s preference for large corporations.
According to July employment trends released on the 12th by the National Data Office, the number of employed people aged 15 to 29 fell by 191,000 from a year earlier, extending its decline for the 45th consecutive month. The youth employment rate also dropped 1.6 percentage points to 44.2%, marking its 27th straight month of decline.
The youth unemployment rate stood at 6.8%, up 1.3 percentage points. The increase was the largest in five years and six months, since January 2021, when it rose by 1.8 percentage points.
As of July, the number of employed people aged 15 and older reached 29.136 million, up 108,000 from a year earlier. Employment had increased by 100,000 to 200,000 in the January-March period this year, but it plunged to the 70,000 range in April as the impact of the Middle East war began to take hold. In May, the labor market worsened further and employment fell by 40,000, before rebounding in June with an increase of 63,000.
Unlike the worsening youth employment situation, the number of employed people aged 65 and older rose by 333,000, extending its increase for 66 consecutive months. Binhyeonjun, Director-General of the Social Statistics Bureau at the National Data Office, said, "Although the number of employed people rose into the 100,000 range in July, the employment rate has fallen for four straight months." He added, "Higher unemployment rates among young people and those aged 30 and older pushed up the overall unemployment rate."
By industry, employment in agriculture, forestry and fisheries fell by 80,000, or 5.4%, due to seasonal factors and aging. Manufacturing, which has a strong job-creation effect, lost 68,000 jobs, or 1.6%. Although the decline narrowed from the previous month’s 97,000 drop thanks to strong exports of key products such as automobiles and machinery, the sector has now been in decline for 25 months. Construction employment also fell by 57,000, or 3.0%, marking its 27th straight month of contraction.
[email protected] Jung Sang-gyun, Kim Chan-mi Reporter