South Koreans pessimistic due to lack of opportunities amid Covid-19 pandemic

SEOUL - Desperation for a job and depression because of the lack of it - that is what young South Koreans are struggling with in the Covid-19 era.

At least one in five young Koreans aged 15 to 29 were looking for jobs as at October, according to Statistics Korea.

A survey by the Economic, Social and Labour Council (ESLC) released in February showed that 91 per cent of 1,000 respondents aged 19 to 39 found it difficult to get a job after the pandemic began.

Many believed companies were cutting back on hiring new people during the pandemic, which took away opportunities for them to prepare well for employment.

Many were pessimistic about their future and were depressed.

About half of the respondents felt hopeless as most job fairs were cancelled or postponed indefinitely. Only 10.9 per cent felt the situation would improve.

The survey contained a scale for the level of depression of those taking part and it found the average was 23.2 out of 60, which meant many were suffering from mild depression. The level was 25.9 for those who had been job-hunting for over a year and this meant they needed counselling.

Mr Moon Sung-hyun, chairman of the ESLC, noted that Covid-19 had an adverse effect on youth.

"It is essential for us to have discussions about youth employment and set an agenda so as to stabilise and fully utilise the future labour force," he said.

It was only late last month that schools reopened fully, after partial or full closure since March last year.

Parents have raised concerns about learning gaps, saying that young children were unable to focus during remote learning.

Teachers also warned of reduced social skills, loss of learning opportunities for vulnerable groups and declining academic performance.