More South Korean young adults economically ‘inactive’, especially women and college grads
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The most common reasons among the young South Koreans polled for taking a break were a lack of desire to find a job, a focus on education and self-development, and burnout.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL – South Korean young adults aged 15 to 34 who remained economically “inactive” rather than seeking employment reached 590,000 in 2024, an increase of 197,000 from 2019, according to a report released by the state-run Korea Employment Information Service on May 23.
The report was based on a survey of 3,189 young people who said they took a break over the past year. These individuals, described as economically inactive, stopped looking for work within one to three years of completing job training or receiving job-seeking benefits.
The average length of their break as at December 2024 was 22.7 months.
The most common reasons for taking a break were a lack of desire to find a job (38.1 per cent), followed by a focus on education and self-development (35 per cent), burnout (27.2 per cent) and psychological issues (25 per cent).
While more men than women were inactive overall, the proportion of economically inactive women has steadily increased over the past decade, the data showed.
Among young people aged 15 to 24, the share of women who were inactive rose from 40 per cent in 2015 to 42.3 per cent in 2024. Among those aged 25 to 34, the share of economically inactive women increased from 35 per cent to 40.9 per cent.
In terms of education, the percentage of college graduates not looking for work increased from 19.4 per cent in 2015 to 23.7 per cent in 2024 among younger people, and from 54.3 per cent to 58.8 per cent among older individuals.
“Job mismatches have become more pronounced due to a lack of decent job opportunities appropriate for the education levels of young people,” the report said.
The number of people who have never tried searching for a job has significantly risen.
The share of people who had sought a job right before taking a break dropped to 29.1 per cent, down from 41.8 per cent in 2015.
When asked whether they would begin work if a job were offered, 99.9 per cent of respondents aged 15 to 24 said “yes” in 2015. By 2024, however, 24 per cent of respondents aged 15 to 24 and 20.1 per cent of those aged 25 to 34 said “no”.
“The decline in the likelihood of finding work, compared with the past, suggests that periods of inactive status could persist longer,” the report said. “The reduced willingness to work may also contribute to this trend.”
As at April, 415,000 young people aged 15 to 29 were taking a break, an increase of 15,000 from the same month in 2024.
This marked the 12th consecutive monthly increase, the longest streak since the 26 straight months recorded from January 2019 to February 2021. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
