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Over 4 million college graduates were out of the labor force and not seeking employment in the first half of this year, government data showed, Sunday.
According to Statistics Korea, the number of college graduates that remain economically inactive came to 4.06 million, up 72,000 from the year before.
The year-on-year increase of over 70,000 is the highest six-month figure since 1999 when the authorities began compiling related data. It even exceeded the 4.04 million at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These unemployed people are part of the group NEETs, an acronym for “Not in Education, Employment or Training.” The demographic refers to those unemployed and not undergoing any education or vocational training.
Most pronounced was the increase is in the 20 to 29 age group, constituting a larger portion of the economically inactive, highly educated demographic.
Almost all of them had experiences of less than one year in menial, repetitive work in the retail and facility management sectors, under temporary contracts. The apparently overqualified were more likely to quit jobs thereafter, frustrated by the low quality of employment available relative to their expectations.
Among the reasons for leaving employment were child care and household responsibilities, old age and physical or mental disabilities.
Some cited no particular reason, categorized as “those at rest” in the statistics data and therefore considered economically inactive.
The state-run statistics agency said economically inactive college graduates first topped 4 million in the first half of 2021, and have since been on the rise, except for 2022.
The development is concerning, given the three consecutive years of decline in the overall economically inactive population, it added.
The government introduced job training and employment matching programs in May, as part of efforts to facilitate economic activity of those in the NEET category.
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